The source of the outbreak of the bird flu virus in De Onlanden is probably in the poultry sector. That said forester Bart Zwiers in the Radio 1 program 5 days.
“As soon as I’m put on my white suit and I’m sweating through the area, I can’t escape the thought that the virus most likely originated in the poultry sector,” Zwiers notes.
According to the forest ranger, it is most likely a highly pathogenic virus, which means that the degree of contagion is high. “They can trace it all the way back to a duck farm in China,” he says of the origin of the virus type. “This is not normally present in nature, but it does get it. That hurts as a forest ranger.”
The bird flu outbreak has been ravaging the nature reserve in North Drenthe for several weeks. Birds such as peregrine falcons, black-headed gulls, geese and swans die in the middle of the breeding season. Together with his colleagues, Zwiers is trying to remove as many dead birds as possible from the nature reserve near Peize, hoping to curb the outbreak. They do this dressed in a white suit, with a face mask and protective goggles.
In the radio interview, Zwiers discussed what the situation means for his environment. “My 13-year-old daughter sees her father in a white suit, is moved to tears and says, ‘Daddy won’t get sick, will he?'”
Zwiers cannot deny that fighting the flu virus can have a fatal outcome. “I see the chance of contamination as nil”, he nuances the danger. “But the chance does exist, and that keeps you busy. There are all kinds of possibilities through which we can get infected.”
Just like with corona, the avian flu virus will remain among us, the forester tempers hopes for rapid improvement. “You don’t have to be highly educated to understand that the virus is mutating more and more. It won’t go away, and in the meantime more mammals are catching bird flu.” Humans don’t have to be left out either. “It is important to know that the virus is getting closer,” says Zwiers.