Highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in Boone County 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship confirmed a case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Boone County, marking the state’s seventh detection of the bird flu in 2026. 

The outbreak occurred in a backyard, mixed species flock of 138 birds, according to IDALS.

Iowa has not reported a case of the H5N1 bird flu since March, when it logged two backyard flock outbreaks. None of the 2026 outbreaks in Iowa have been in commercial poultry flocks. 

The current outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian flu started in February 2022 and since then has impacted more than 30 million birds in Iowa and more than 208 million birds nationally, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

IDALS urged poultry owners to continue “bolstering” their biosecurity practices and to contact their veterinarians immediately if they suspect birds are sick with the virus.