Bird flu was found in two young foxes that lived in a nature reserve in East Groningen.
The foxes probably contracted the disease by eating infected waterfowl, thinks the Dutch Wildlife Health Center (DWHC), the expertise center for diseases in wild animals. DWHC advises dog owners in Friesland and Groningen to keep their animals on a leash in areas where dead birds have also been found.
First thought was rabies
The young foxes showed strange behavior with neurological abnormalities. They were thought to have contracted the rabies virus. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority NVWA had this examined at a laboratory of the University of Wageningen, but the animals turned out not to have had rabies.
Barnacle geese and birds of prey also infected
Experts from the DWHC then suggested looking into bird flu, as a fox and some seals had also been infected in Scotland. There was a recent outbreak of bird flu type H5N1 near the Groningen nature reserve.
Many dead barnacle geese and birds of prey are also still found in both northern provinces, which appear to be infected. Anyone who finds a sick or dead bird should not touch it, but warn DWHC or the NVWA.
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