(Radio Iowa) – State Ag Secretary Mike Naig says Iowa officials are taking a different approach compared to other states when it comes to bird flu testing. When a poultry flock has been hit by the virus, the testing protocol has been that poultry operations within a 20 kilometer radius are tested.

Results are expected soon and Naig says there could be a big bump in the number of bird flu cases confirmed on Iowa dairy farms.

Teams of U-S-D-A experts have been in the state analyzing each of the sites where bird flu has been confirmed among poultry or dairy cattle.

Naig says even dairy farmers OUTSIDE of the mandatory testing zones have contacted state officials to say they suspect cattle are infected with the virus. Dairy cows are quarantined while they’re sick, but are not euthanized.

The strain of bird flu that’s been CONFIRMED at EIGHT dairy operations in northwest Iowa over the past few weeks is the same. Naig suspects bird flu is more widespread.

The main hit to dairies where bird flu is detected is a drop in milk production, but Naig says some Iowa dairy cows have died after being diagnosed with bird flu.

According to the U-S-D-A, it’s older dairy cows that die after getting the virus. The National Veterinary Services Lab in Ames is processing the tests for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Iowa dairy herds.