February 13, 2017

Bird flu in Czech Republic biggest single outbreak in 2017 so far
 

In light of a bird flu outbreak, authorities in the Czech Republic have ordered the culling of up to 20,000 ducks and other poultry at a production site in the south of the country in early February.

The incident is described as the largest single case of bird flu in this year so far. Blatenska Ryba, the site's owner based 100km south of Prague, had culled 6,500 ducks at another location in January. "We have a case, first estimates see some 20,000 (ducks) there," regional director of the State Veterinary Administration (SVS) Frantisek Kouba told Reuters. In addition, the disease is likely to spread further due to the several commercial poultry farms in the region, Kouba added.

As of February 3, one month from the first bird flu case, 37,000 poultry were culled in 20 locations. Two cases were at commercial farms and the rest in small flocks, according to SVS data.

The event adds to mounting incidences of bird flu around Europe and the world including France, Italy, Belgium, China and South Korea. Recently, Hungary's chief veterinarian has ordered all poultry to be kept indoors after 11 counties were hit by bird flu and more than three million birds had to be culled.

- Reuters