Bird flu spreads to third Dutch farm

A third case of bird flu has been detected on a poultry farm in Kamperveen, Overjissel. The farm has a fixed total of around 10 thousand animals, which will be culled according to European rules.

The Netherlands has set up a ten kilometer perimeter around the Kamperveen farm. There are 34 other poultry farms within this area, which will be tested for avian influenza.

The infection on this farm is a H5 strain of bird flu. Further analysis by the CVI will determine whether it is a low pathogenic or a highly pathogenic variant. According to Minister Dijksma of Economic Affairs, the results of this analysis are expected to be available today.

Researchers have determined that the bird flu that was detected on the farm in Ter Aar yesterday is the highly pathogenic H5N8. This is the same strain that was found on the farm in Hekendorp on Sunday. No bird flu was found on the other farms in the 10 kilometer perimeter around Ter Aar.

The culling of the roughly 43 thousand animals on the Ter Aar farm is expected to finish today. About 150 thousand egg laying hens were culled at the farm in Hekendorp.

The highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza is very contagious among poultry. This variant is fatal to chickens. Avian influenza can be transmitted from animals to humans. For this reason protective measures have been taken for people who came in direct and close contact with the infected poultry. Should a person become infected with bird flu, he will generally experience mild flu symptoms.

After the first outbreak of bird flu in Hekendorp on Sunday, South Korea banned all imports of poultry from the Netherlands. The European Union is also debating further restrictions.