(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, Tuesday, said 140,000 birds will be destroyed because of a bird flu outbreak in Iowa. The Department of Agriculture reported outbreaks in two commercial turkey flocks in Sac and Cherokee counties. These are the first bird flu flare-ups in Sac and Cherokee counties since the spring. Forty thousand turkeys in Sac County and 100,000 turkeys in Cherokee County will be destroyed.

To date, more than 15 million birds across the state have been destroyed because of the bird flu this year. Across the country, that number is now up to about 53 million, making this outbreak worse than those in 2014 and 2015.