EU

Czech farm hit by avian flu

Poultry

Wild water birds are believed to be behind the outbreak that was also discovered in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

Posted on Jan 20 ,06:50

A highly contagious bird flu has been confirmed at a Czech farm, according to the veterinary watchdog from the Czech Republic. The virus H5N8 is similar to the one reported in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania in the last couple of weeks.
Petr Vorlicek, a spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration (SVS), said the infection at the farm in Stepanov nad Svratkou was most likely imported by wild water birds, reports Phys.org.
The farm was small with only three ducks and 12 hens, of which six infected with the virus died within two days. A 10 kilometres protected area was created around the farm and the remaining birds were culled.
On the other hand, Coordination rurale, a French farm union, warns about the risk of a general epidemic in the EU and recalls the 2017 events when millions of birds were culled in Europe due to multiple outbreaks on the continent. The union also warned authorities to urgently stop shipments from the infected countries and alert customs agents to the risk.

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