News item | 03-01-2022 | 20:47
In Blija (municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân, province of Friesland) bird flu (H5) was diagnosed in broilers on a poultry farm. It is probably a highly pathogenic variant of bird flu. To prevent the virus from spreading, the approximately 177,000 broilers on this farm are culled. A poultry farm belonging to the same owner is located 100 meters from the infected farm. This company with approximately 45,000 broilers is culled as a preventive measure. The clearances are carried out by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
In a zone of 1 kilometer around the infected farm, there are no other farms besides the poultry farm mentioned above. There are 3 poultry farms in the area of 3 kilometers around the infected farm, which are sampled for bird flu. There are 10 other poultry farms in the 10 kilometer zone around this company. The transport ban applies immediately for this zone.
Transport ban
A transport ban applies to all birds and hatching and table eggs from a location with birds. The ban also applies to bird manure and used litter, and to other animals and animal products from poultry farms. In addition, additional rules apply to hunting, for example in this area it is forbidden to hunt ducks or to hunt in areas where this could disturb waterfowl. See also the scheme for more information.
National measures
National measures still apply, such as a ban on visiting bird roosts of risk birds, unless absolutely necessary. Birds at risk include kept gallinaceous birds (such as chickens), waterfowl and ratites. See also the explanation of the scheme for more information.
The national storage and screening obligation is still in full force. The house keeping obligation applies to commercially kept birds, these are brought indoors (except pheasants and ratites). For non-commercially kept high-risk birds (fowls/chickens, waterfowl and ratites), for example in zoos, petting zoos and owners of birds and chickens, and for commercially kept pheasants, ratites and ornamental waterfowl, there is a protection obligation. It must be prevented as much as possible that the birds come into contact with sick wild birds or their droppings. This can be done, for example, by keeping the animals in an aviary. on the website of the NVWA you can find more information about how this can best be done. A ban has also been imposed on the display of poultry, waterfowl and ratites.
Keepers of laying hens, breeding stock, broilers and ducks are still subject to a stricter reporting obligation. In this context, poultry farmers must report the loss of their poultry to the NVWA earlier, so that infections with bird flu can come to light earlier and the chance of spreading is reduced.
Tracking Investigation
As usual, in the context of the contamination at the company in Blija, a tracing investigation is being conducted into high-risk contacts. In these investigations, the NVWA examines whether ‘risky contact’ has taken place between the infected company and other locations. A risky contact is, for example, when a visitor has been to an infected company, and then visited another company. If necessary, additional measures will be taken in response to the results of the investigation. Any additional measures will be reported in an update in this press release and via the online channels of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.