Avian flu: Consequences for poultry farmers, nature and our wallet

How it ended up in the barn remains a mystery. “In the end, the laboratory was unable to determine how it got to us, but we suspect it was due to the wind,” says Alrik Visscher.

It is more often the case that guessing is the cause. For example, little is known about how bird flu enters a poultry farmer’s house. Piet Faber of the poultry department of LTO Noord explains: “We’ve had bird flu for twenty years, but science still doesn’t know how it gets in. But we can use common sense.”

Faber is referring to earlier research. “This shows that the feathers of infected birds, especially wild birds, are packed with virus. If you get such a feather in your house through your air ventilation openings, it can have disastrous consequences.” That is why Faber advocates, in addition to strict hygiene, the use of windbreak gauze that you can hang in front of the ventilation openings.

“I think it is wise to remove coarse parts such as grass, feathers and other junk from the incoming ventilation air. I think the contamination will then go down considerably,” says Faber.

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