Iowa confirmed its third case of the highly pathogenic bird flu last Friday at a Taylor County egg-laying facility.

Approximately 920,000 laying hens were destroyed following the discovery. Earlier this month, a backyard flock in Pottawattamie County and a 50,000-bird commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County were found to have the virus.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is extremely contagious and deadly among birds. The virus wreaked havoc in Iowa in 2015, leading to the destruction of 32.7 million birds. Nationally, that number tallied 50.5 million.

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a di...