Dive Brief:

• Des Moines, IA city officials are acting fast to keep the bird flu from spreading. A contractor is transporting wood waste to facilities plagued by the bird flu from the city’s forestry wood dump. The wood waste helps those facilities handle decontamination.
• The Iowa Department of Agriculture is looking into four more possible avian flu cases, one of which is in Buena Vista County and the other three in Sioux County. The bird flu has not yet been found in Des Moines.
• Reports indicate there are now 14 counties in Iowa that collectively have 60 potential avian flu infection locations.

Dive Insight:

While Des Moines is saving approximately $50,000 by giving away the wood waste (rather than sending it to a landfill), the city’s proactive approach to the bird flu epidemic is notable. The city's leaders are thinking creatively to help stop a disease that has resulted in the killing of millions of turkeys and chickens.