Avian influenza in swans | Offenbach

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The city of Offenbach, the Main-Kinzig-Kreis and the Vogelsbergkreis are introducing compulsory housing for domestic poultry after bird flu was discovered in dead wild animals.

From Saturday to Monday, Monika Grimm and two employees of the Offenbach Veterinary Office walked up and down the banks of the Main between Hafen 2 and Rumpenheim. “We found two dead swans,” reports the official veterinarian Grimm. “And a Frankfurt swan on the Fechenheimer Ufer.” Two dead swans had already been found in Offenbach at the end of February. On Tuesday, the laboratory results from the Friedrich Loeffler Institute confirmed that the wild animals had died of avian influenza. This was followed by the search on the banks of the Main.

The city of Offenbach is responding to bird flu by making it compulsory to keep all domestic poultry in order to prevent possible transmission of avian influenza. In order to reduce the risk of infection, the birds must not be allowed to run outside. The official announcement appears this Thursday. The virus is passed on through direct contact with infected animals or through excrement. Waterfowl in particular pose a significant risk as they can be virus carriers without showing symptoms.

In the Vogelsberg district and in parts of the Main-Kinzig district, birds have again been made compulsory due to avian influenza. The order has been in effect for the Main-Kinzig district since Wednesday, in the Vogelsberg district it comes into force on Friday, as the district administrations announced. With the stipulated stable compulsory, keeping in appropriately secured aviaries is also permitted. According to the Main-Kinzig district, there had been several cases in the nearby Offenbach district. The virus was discovered on a dead great egret in Romrod in the Vogelsberg district. In December it was detected for the first time in five swans near Freiensteinau in the Vogelsberg district, in January it hit a poultry farm in the same place, the animals were killed. The hobby animal owner had tried in vain to defend himself against it by legal means.

In Offenbach there are very many small farmers who have between two and twenty chickens, as well as five small animal breeding associations. “As a precaution, my authorities wrote to all poultry farmers in the autumn,” reports Grimm; at that time the avian influenza had occurred in northern Germany. In the coming weeks, the veterinary office will inspect the stalls that are within one kilometer of the dead animals.

“At the moment there are only cases in the wild bird population,” emphasizes Grimm. If an increased mortality rate or suspicious symptoms of illness such as fever, loss of appetite or indifference are noticed in the barn, the poultry farmers should inform their veterinarian immediately. with dpa

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