News item | 01-11-2021 | 21:14
In Assendelft (municipality of Zaanstad, province of North Holland) bird flu (H5) has been diagnosed in laying hens on a small-scale farm. It is probably a highly pathogenic variant of bird flu. To prevent the virus from spreading, the approximately 140 laying hens and 50 runner ducks are culled from the infected location. The culling is carried out by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
There is one other poultry farm within a radius of 3 kilometers around the company. This company is being investigated for bird flu. There are no other poultry farms within a radius of 10 kilometers around the infected farm.
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Transport ban Assendelft
A transport ban for poultry farms has been announced with immediate effect in a zone of 10 kilometers around the company in Assendelft. A transport ban applies to all birds and hatching and table eggs from a location with birds. The ban also applies to poultry manure and used litter, and to other animals and animal products from poultry farms.
National measures
As a result of a bird flu infection at a company last week, a national obligation to keep and screen off is set up. This will remain in full force. The house keeping obligation applies to commercially kept birds, these are brought indoors (except pheasants and ratites). A screening obligation applies to non-commercially kept high-risk birds (fowls/chickens, waterfowl and ratites), for example in zoos, petting zoos and owners of birds and chickens, and commercially kept pheasants and ratites. It must be prevented as much as possible that the birds come into contact with sick wild birds or their droppings. This can be done, for example, by keeping the animals in an aviary. On the website More information can be found from the NVWA about how this can best be done. There is also a ban on the display of poultry, waterfowl and ratites.
Keepers of laying hens, breeding stock, broilers and ducks and ducks are still subject to a stricter reporting obligation. In this context, poultry farmers must report the loss of their poultry to the NVWA earlier, so that infections with bird flu can come to light earlier and the chance of spreading is reduced.
Traceringsonderzoek
As usual, in the context of the contamination at the company in Assendelft, a tracing investigation is being conducted into high-risk contacts. In these investigations, the NVWA examines whether ‘risky contact’ has taken place between the infected company and other locations. A risky contact is, for example, when a visitor has been to an infected company, and then visited another company. If necessary, additional measures will be taken in response to the results of the investigation. Any additional measures will be reported in an update in this press release and via the online channels of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
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