Ducks killed in brandenburg after bird flu outbreak
After the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in a duck fattening farm in brandenburg, the culling of the entire flock of a good 14 ducks began on saturday morning.000 animals started. A one-kilometer exclusion zone will be in place around the farm for 21 days, said tobias seyfarth, spokesman for the district of markisch-oderland. All poultry under surveillance. Keepers of animals in the area are urged to report any symptoms of illness immediately and to keep all animals within the exclusion zone.
H5N1 avian influenza was detected at the farm near seelow in the oderbruch region, but in a less dangerous "not highly pathogenic" form variant. The friedrich loeffler institute (FLI) on the island of riems in the baltic sea provided information on this on friday evening. There is no danger to the population, the federal ministry of agriculture assured.
First, according to the state ministry of the environment, antibodies to the H5N1 virus were discovered and immediately reported during internal inspections of the poultry fattening farm. The flock did not show any other clinical symptoms.
In the region, all poultry farms that had contact with the company with the bird flu case were now epidemiologically investigated, reported the spokesman of the county. A total of about 40 businesses are located there. The residents received leaflets with instructions on how to behave within the restricted area.
Whether an animal is sick can be recognized, for example, by an abnormal head posture, discharge from the eyes and beak, refusal of food, sneezing or a dull plumage, explained seyfarth. If someone should observe something like that, the responsible veterinary office is to be informed immediately.
With the "animal welfare according to the district, a specialist company for animal disease control was commissioned to kill the ducks on saturday. Supervision was the responsibility of the county veterinary office. Before the birds were killed, a private security service had cordoned off the area.
District veterinarian ralph botticher had pointed out on friday that the cause of the infection in the ducks was not yet clear. Transmission through contact with wild animals is conceivable. Bird flu is more common in the wild without humans noticing anything about it. "In waterfowl, H5N1 infection can occur without symptoms", so botticher. According to FLI information from the beginning of january, H5N1 bird flu had not been detected in germany for more than three years.
