Rome, November 9, 2021 – The outbreak of bird flu discovered in a poultry farm a Ostia Antica it is only the latest in a series, after Veneto had been involved in recent weeks. The Department of Health of the Lazio Region has triggered the safety measures with sweeping checks and protection and surveillance areas. “Following the regular checks relating to the onset of an abnormal mortality in a non-commercial poultry farm – reads the note – a case of avian influenza virus was detected in samples of birds. The report of the reference center National Institute of Zooprophylactic confirms the onset of an outbreak of avian influenza of subtype H5 HPAI “.
The outbreaks in Verona
The outbreak had already registered six outbreaks in the province of Verona, with 125,000 broiler turkeys killed. “The H5N1 virus is described by experts as particularly aggressive and dangerous and therefore the concern is there – underlined Diego Zoccante, president of the product section Allevamenti avicoli of Confagricoltura Verona -, but both the Ulss and the breeders are in possession of twenty years of experience in the avian field and therefore, at the moment, the situation is under control “. Since the last major epidemic, which was in 2017, all safety-related protocols have been strengthened, with the introduction of practices aimed at maximizing the protection of farms. “In addition to the storage and disposal of the carcasses – the note continued – we are adopting a series of precautionary forms such as the disinfection of all incoming vehicles, the change of clothing and shoes from the outside to the inside, the ban on entry in the establishments of unauthorized personnel. These are regulations that are being maintained, because we had not registered any more cases of avian for four years “. A consistent presence of wild animals such as herons, magpies and pheasants, which were probably the carriers of the virus, was found near the affected establishments.
The lockdown of poultry in France
Alert also abroad. French breeders will have to establish a “lockdown” for poultry and birds as the risk for these animals of contracting avian flu is “high” in France. According to an official ordinance of November 5, which speaks of “multiplication of cases in neighboring countries”. The increased level of risk implies that all flocks will have to lock up birds to avoid contact with migratory birds, which are potentially carriers of the avian influenza virus. The government hopes to avoid a repetition of the phenomenon of last winter, when France counted about 500 points of contamination on farms, especially in the south-west of the country where more ‘foie gras’ is produced. The crisis eventually led to the culling of 3.5 million animals, mostly ducks.
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