April 17, 2012

Finland's Karniniemi farms detect infectious bronchitis in chickens

Infectious bronchitis (IB) has been found in chickens on Finland's Kariniemi's farms.

Kariniemi is the broiler brand of Finnish food industry company HK Ruokatalo. The first cases were found in the summer of 2011, and after that, dozens of cases have been found on at least 30 chicken farms.

The disease cannot be treated but it can be prevented with a vaccine. The disease lowers egg production.

Food industry companies Atria and Saarioinen say no IB cases have been found on their farms. Atria has stepped up monitoring of the health of broilers and has increased the taking of samples. Saarioinen is monitoring the situation.