Nearly 650 Thousand Birds In Poland Have Bird Flu

JAKARTA - Poland has reported a number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in poultry farms, with a total number of nearly 650,000 birds, according to the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), Monday, November 8.

Poland is the largest poultry producer in the European Union.

Five outbreaks, four at a turkey farm and one at a broiler farm, were found in the east. Another outbreak has occurred in turkey and goose farms in the west, the OIE said, citing a report by Polish authorities.

Bird flu, which is mostly carried from country to country via wild bird migration, is spreading rapidly in Europe.

The condition raises concern for the poultry industry after previous outbreaks led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds and restrictions on international trade.

The French government on Friday declared a high alert for bird flu, extending the requirement to keep all flocks indoors.

This requirement comes after Dutch authorities last month also ordered commercial breeders to keep all their livestock indoors following reports of bird flu on a farm.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 bird flu was reported at a small farm unit in central England on Monday.

British authorities last week declared a national Avian Flu Prevention Zone, ordering livestock and bird owners to tighten biosafety measures. This was reported by Reuters from Antara.