China News Service, The Hague, November 19th. The largest bird flu epidemic in European history has not subsided. On the 19th, an outbreak broke out in the border area between the Netherlands and Germany, and about 220,000 poultry were culled.
According to the announcement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands on the same day, a bird flu case was found in a chicken farm in Venray, Limburg Province in the southeastern Netherlands bordering Germany. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, about 223,000 farms were involved. Broiler chickens were culled.
The announcement stated that there are no other farms within a radius of 1 kilometer of the farm involved, so there is no need to take epidemic prevention measures; there are 6 farms within a radius of 3 kilometers, which are undergoing epidemic prevention inspections by the authorities.
At the same time, there are 43 farms within a radius of 10 kilometers of the farm involved, and a small area is German territory; after consultation with the German authorities, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands issued a “blockade order” to 43 farms, prohibiting the farms from going outside. Poultry, eggs, meat, fertilizers and other products are transported, and people are also not allowed to hunt in these areas.
As a major exporter of poultry products in Europe, the Netherlands has more than 2,000 poultry and egg farms, with a net export of more than 6 billion eggs each year. However, since last year, more than 60 farms in the Netherlands have had outbreaks of bird flu, and the number of poultry culled by the authorities exceeds 4 million.
In addition to the “hardest hit” Netherlands, the bird flu epidemic is sweeping across Europe. On the 18th, the Berlin Zoo in Germany reported that due to the impact of the bird flu epidemic, the Berlin Zoo will be closed from now on, and all poultry in the park will be inspected for epidemic prevention.
In October this year, the European Food Safety Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control jointly issued a report stating that Europe is experiencing the largest bird flu epidemic in history, with more than 2,460 cases reported and culling of 48 million poultry, affecting 37 countries across Europe. In this country, both the number of cases and the scope of the epidemic have reached “new highs”.
The report also pointed out that despite the raging epidemic, no one has been found to be infected with the bird flu virus. Generally speaking, except for farm workers and other staff who have direct contact with infected animals, the risk of infection of other groups of people with avian influenza virus is low.
Editor in charge: Yuan Danhua