PRAGUE, Feb 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Czech farmers have destroyed about 140,000 poultry since the beginning of 2024 to prevent the spread of bird flu.
On Feb 7, the Czech National Veterinary Service (SVS) said that poultry infected with the H5N1 influenza virus could be transmitted to humans.
Since the beginning of the year, SVS has identified 15 outbreaks of avian influenza on small non-commercial farms and 3 outbreaks on large commercial farms.
Three commercial livestock farms in the central region of the country had to destroy 50,000 ducks and 90,000 chickens after discovering an outbreak. In addition, the agency also detected the virus in some dead poultry carcasses outside the farms.
The bird flu epidemic caused by infection with the highly virulent H5N1 strain caused 3 deaths in Cambodia.
Recently, the virus has also been discovered in mammals such as foxes, sheep, seals and even bears, raising concerns that humans are at high risk of infection.
French authorities have raised the bird flu warning level to the highest in December 2023, requiring livestock farmers to keep poultry in farms.
Researchers discovered the bodies of 35 penguins in the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic on Jan 19, two of which tested positive for the H5N1 virus. — NNN-AGENCIES
