Bird flu outbreak forces outdoor poultry ban in Czech Republic

Prague [Czech Republic], December 14: The State Veterinary Administration (SVS) of the Czech Republic announced on Tuesday a nationwide ban on outdoor poultry farming as it rolled out emergency measures to tackle "increasing outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu" in the country.
The SVS said in a statement that the ban, which will enter into force on Wednesday, prohibits keeping poultry in the open air with the exception of runner ducks and pigeons.
Farmers who find it impossible to keep poultry indoors are ordered to limit the poultry's outdoor areas and minimize their contact with wild birds.
Six new outbreaks of bird flu have been confirmed in the Czech Republic since the beginning of December, according to the SVS. Czech veterinarians culled around 15,000 ducks on a factory farm in the country's South Bohemian region earlier this month.
"In all cases, it was a highly pathogenic variant of the (avian influenza) H5N1 subtype, which can potentially be transmissible to humans," the SVS said, asking poultry farms to restrict the movement of people in the farms only to those whose activities "are absolutely necessary to ensure the proper care of poultry."
"We appeal to all poultry breeders to strictly observe the ordered emergency veterinary measures in their own and public interest. We also ask them to observe the principles of biological safety in farms. Changes in health status or increased deaths in farms must be reported immediately to the regional veterinary administration," SVS Central Director Zbynek Semerad said in the statement.
The SVS also said the number of new bird flu outbreaks is increasing across Europe. The Czech Republic had not detected an outbreak for seven months, although there have been several outbreaks in the country in recent years.
In February 2020, an outbreak at a factory farm in the country's central Pardubice region resulted in the culling of over 100,000 poultry.
Source: Xinhua