Hungen (dpa/lhe) – The suspicion of an outbreak of avian influenza in a turkey fattening farm in Hungen in central Hesse has been confirmed. This was announced by the Gießen district on Wednesday. Special precautions to protect against the spread of the animal disease, such as setting up a restricted zone, will therefore apply from this Thursday. Because of the outbreak, around 8,500 turkeys from the fattening farm had to be killed.
“Because the pathogen, in contrast to previous evidence in the region, has not affected a wild bird, but a large animal husbandry, special protective and precautionary measures are necessary,” said Christian Zuckermann, head of the district’s veterinary and consumer protection department, according to the announcement.
These apply to all poultry farms or ornamental bird farms, pigeons or birds of prey within a restricted zone radius of up to ten kilometers around the affected farm. The measures include, for example, that the animals must remain permanently in closed stables or under a cover. In a radius of three kilometers, stricter regulations apply, which the owners have to observe.
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a highly contagious animal disease. Pathogens are influenza viruses, which in principle can also be transmitted to humans, as it was said. Overall, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the risk of the current variant circulating in Germany can be assessed as very low. According to this, only people with close contact to infected poultry are at risk.
