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News from the NOS•today, 10:01
The largest avian flu outbreak to date has been detected in Heythuysen in Limburg. It is a company with 300,000 laying hens, reports the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
To prevent the spread of the virus, the chickens are slaughtered on the spot by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. Due to the large number of animals, the service plans to work on this for some time.
The other five poultry farms located within a 3 kilometer radius of the affected farm are in the screening phase. Over the next two weeks, those animals will be monitored intensively for symptoms of the disease 1Linburgh.
A transport ban within a 10 kilometer radius around the company came into effect immediately. 128 poultry farms are no longer allowed to carry hatching and table eggs, as well as transporting manure, used bedding and other animal products from poultry farms.
Obligation of confinement and shielding
From 5 October there is again one for the whole country storage and shielding obligation in force for keepers of poultry and other bird species. The measure was announced due to an increase in the number of infections in September and fears of further infections mainly in wild birds. The obligation to let birds in does not only apply to businesses, but also to hobbyists.
Of the biggest wave of avian flu ever it has been going on for more than a year and it is the first time. In Europe, the virus was found in 37 countries. The countries with the highest number of infections are France, Germany and the Netherlands. For the first time, the disease spread rapidly even among wild birds.
