Bird Flu Detected at a Southern Hungarian Farm

Avian influenza has been detected at a farm in southern Hungary, food safety authority NÉBIH said on its website. The virus was detected at a goose farm in Bács-Kiskun County. The 3,500 birds have been culled, the state news agency MTI reports.

The laboratory of the National Food Chain Safety Office ( NÉBIH ) has again confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Bács-Kiskun county. This time, the infection reached a fattening farm with about 3,500 geese, where the flock has already been eradicated on the basis of suspicion, the office said on its website on Thursday.

In the flock of about 3,500 geese for fattening in Kiskunmajsa, Bács-Kiskun county, increased mortality and nervous symptoms alerted the keeper to the suspicion of avian influenza. The presence of the H5N1 subtype of the virus in the flock was confirmed by NÉBIH.

The veterinary experts have already carried out the eradication of the flock on the basis of the suspicion. Contact holdings and flocks within a radius of three kilometers are also being eradicated to prevent further spread of the disease. A protection zone of three-kilometer radius around the affected farm and a surveillance zone of ten-kilometer radius have been established. Further investigations have been launched in these areas and disease control and movement restrictions have been put in place.

The case has been communicated to the partner countries by the national veterinary inspector general.

NÉBIH again stresses the responsibility of livestock keepers to protect their animals. Strict compliance with disease control measures is of the utmost importance throughout the country, while in high-risk areas of our country poultry flocks must continue to be kept under confinement. In addition, the mandatory pre-movement inspections will remain in place.