Department confirms Avian flu outbreak in three countries

Avian flu virus has been detected in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, the Department of Agriculture here has confirmed.

Commenting on the outbreak, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said while it is a serious disease for chicken and duck flocks, concerns for humans getting the disease remain low.

“This is an animal health disease, which normally results in high mortality rates in flocks and its spread is normally controlled by the killing of the affected flocks and the destruction of the carcases,” Minister Coveney said.

“There is no known food safety risk associated with the strain of the disease (H5N8) confirmed in Germany and the Netherlands. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in its recent assessment (November 2014), there have been no human cases of H5N8,” the Minister added.

The Department has said that the “likely source of the outbreak of the disease in Europe is wild migratory birds, though this has not been confirmed”.

Reports in the British press have linked the outbreak in England to a duck farm in Yorkshire.

IFA national poultry chairman, Nigel Renaghan has urged all poultry farmers to take protective measures on their farms and to ensure that essential visitors only should be permitted entry.

The Minister concluded by saying: “My Department has a full range of contingency plans in place and, should an outbreak occur measures will be initiated immediately, to prevent the spread of the disease”.