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Dutch poultry farm in Tzummarum reports mild bird flu

Xinhua, March 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

At a poultry farm in Tzummarum in the Northern Dutch province of Friesland has detected a form of mild bird flu, most likely the mild H7N7 variant, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Thursday.

Based on European rules all 22,000 laying hens will be culled, by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), a necessity because the low pathogenic variant avian influenza can mutate into a highly contagious and highly pathogenic, fatal for chickens.

Since Thursday a transport ban has been applied for an area of over one kilometer around the infected farm for poultry, eggs, poultry manure and used bedding. Within this area there is one other poultry farm, which will be tested for avian influenza.

Two weeks ago bird flu of the mild H7N7 was found at a poultry farm in Barneveld, in the province of Gelderland, after which around 30,000 laying hens were culled.

In November last year bird flu of the highly pathogenic H5N8 variant was detected on several commercial poultry farms in the Netherlands. Endit