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A pheasant in a field: Bird flu has been detected in a Danish pheasant farm near the German border
Photo: Marcus Brandt / dpa
Bird flu has broken out in two German poultry farms in recent days and also in a Danish farm near the German border. On a farm in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this led to the killing of tens of thousands of turkeys. A farm in the municipality of Lewitzrand with about 25,000 animals was affected, said a spokesman for the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.
The culling of the animals had already started on Wednesday morning. According to the Ministry of Agriculture in Schwerin, it is the influenza virus of the subtype H5N1, which is life-threatening for birds. "It is to be feared that events will continue to pick up speed in view of the upcoming cold season," said Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD).
In a poultry farm with around 50 birds in Lower Saxony, the highly contagious form of bird flu also broke out, as the district of Cuxhaven announced on Wednesday. Domestic and wild fowl in particular can quickly become infected. All animals on the affected farm had to be killed. At the end of October, the authority reported an outbreak in a poultry farm with around 39,000 birds – albeit with the less contagious form of bird flu.
Prior to these outbreaks, the highly pathogenic bird flu had last appeared on farms in Germany in July, a spokeswoman for the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) said. "So there was a kind of summer break here."
The current pathogen first appeared on May 29, 2023, at a location north of Johannesburg in South Africa and was confirmed as a new subtype on June 15. In the context of the infections, 1.8 million birds died, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (Wahis). The most frightening thing about the new type of bird flu is that an animal that falls ill with it will almost certainly die.
A detailed report on the new variant of bird flu can be found here: New subtypes threaten global bird life
An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of countermeasures can be read here: Can vaccination banish bird flu?
Bird flu has been appearing repeatedly in Germany for years, it is introduced and spread by wild birds. It can cause great economic damage: If a herd is infested with the highly contagious variant, all animals there are usually killed.
Bird flu viruses have also been detected in a Danish pheasant farm near the German border. Because of the risk of infection, all about 2700 animals would be killed at the farm near Tønder, the veterinary and food authority also announced on Wednesday. According to the information, the pheasants may have been infected by wild birds that have rested in the area on their autumn migration south. Because the surveillance zone extends across the German border, the authorities in Schleswig-Holstein have been informed so that they can take their own steps.
oka/dpa