The starting point is Lake Kemnader in Bochum. The scenario: In the morning, walkers discovered the dead birds on the shore of the lake. The message reaches the district headquarters of the Ennepe-Ruhr district in Schwelm, where the official veterinarian takes action. She suspects the origin of the bird sanctuary in Hattingen.
Exercise with rubber ducks
Then a routine begins that has been agreed upon for a long time. The first samples of the droppings and beaks of the “dead” birds are taken and sent to a special laboratory. In the large-scale exercise, these are of course not real water birds – the district helps itself out with rubber ducks, which the DLRG fishes with boats from Lake Kemnader near the port of Heveney in Bochum.
Isolate affected businesses and households
The samples are quickly evaluated. If the result is positive, the official veterinarian, Dr. Bettina Buck isolating the bird sanctuary. “Then I inform all the poultry farms in the area and also call households who, for example, keep chickens privately.”
Then comes the most difficult decision: Do birds have to be killed or is it enough to cordon off the sites where they were found? For example, the farms could set up tubs with disinfectants at the entrances. Important: The virus must under no circumstances spread and infect entire bird populations.
Exercise is a mandatory program for cities and districts
Even though most bird flu viruses are harmless to humans, such exercises are required by law for all large cities and districts. Yearly. It doesn’t always have to be as complicated as it was this Monday in Schwelm. “It is also sufficient if, for example, administrative employees are trained for such cases.” Up to 100 people from the district administration to the DLRG are taking part in today’s exercise in the Ennepe-Ruhr district.