Blank Park Zoo ramps up protocols to prevent spread of avian flu

• "We went through COVID. ... We did two years of that and then without taking a breath ... we're doing all this to protect the birds from avian flu," Bickel, the zoo's chief marketing officer, tells Axios.

Driving the news: Avian influenza is taking the nation by storm, but it's particularly a problem in Iowa, the country's top egg producer.

• More than eight million birds have been euthanized in the state to curb its spread since the flu was first confirmed in Iowa on March 1, — nearly 50% of the nation's total killed birds.

Between the lines: While the majority of the infected flocks come from farm or backyard operations, that doesn't mean Toucan Sam is safe either.

• The flu is spreading primarily from migrating birds via their droppings, meaning every shoe is a potential spreader.
• It's why bird handlers at the zoo are now wearing hazmat suits and the birds themselves are in different buildings, a sort of "social distancing" in case avian influenza does arrive.

As for the general public, everything will seem normal to them except the lack of bird exhibits, Bickel said.