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Potsdam (dpa / bb) - Avian influenza continues to spread among farm animals in Brandenburg.
After a new case of bird flu in an animal population in the Uckermark, around 29,000 turkeys had to be killed and disposed of by order of the district, the consumer protection ministry announced in Potsdam on Tuesday.
The turkey population is only a few kilometers away from the farm where the avian influenza pathogen was discovered last week.
It is the fourth case of the viral disease in farm animals in Brandenburg.
In the past few weeks, poultry infected with the virus had also been found in other federal states.
Consumer Protection Minister Ursula Nonnemacher (Greens) believes the risk of the disease spreading among farm animals in Brandenburg is still high.
She asked all poultry farmers to check the prescribed safety measures and to improve them if necessary.
This includes, for example, washing and disinfecting hands and separating street and stable clothes.
When the epidemic breaks out, a restricted area with a radius of at least three kilometers and an observation area with a radius of at least ten kilometers will be set up around the outbreak of the epidemic.
In the past week, the avian influenza pathogen H5N8 was detected in a turkey fattening facility in the Uckermark district.
There, by order of the district veterinary office, around 14,000 fattening turkeys were killed and disposed of, and a restricted and observation area was set up.
At the end of December 2020, the pathogen was found in an animal population in the Spree-Neisse district and at the end of January 2021 in a commercial turkey business in Prignitz.
In addition, the virus has been detected in seven wild birds in Brandenburg since last autumn.
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Avian influenza, also known colloquially as bird flu, is a highly contagious viral disease for poultry and other birds.
According to the Ministry, it can quickly reach epidemic proportions in poultry flocks.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210209-99-368888 / 2