State officials have confirmed five new cases of avian flu at chicken farms in Osceola, O’Brien and Sioux Counties affecting 6 million birds. The farms ranged from 240,000 to 3.8 million birds. The chickens will be killed. Previously, three cases had been confirmed in Buena Vista, Osceola and Sac County. The spreading disease already has claimed nearly 10 million of Iowa’s 60 million laying hens. Iowa is the nation’s top egg producer, and industry sources fear the losses will spike prices. State health officials report there is low risk of the chickens spreading the flu to people, and there is no risk from eating chicken or eggs.