Verl (dpa / lnw) – After cases in the past few days, an outbreak of avian influenza in North Rhine-Westphalia has been confirmed again. A stock of 270 geese, ducks, chickens and swans in Verl (Gütersloh district) is affected, as the district announced on Wednesday. The animals were killed. Also in Verl there is another suspected avian influenza case that still needs to be clarified.
In NRW, the protective measures against the spread of the virus had recently been tightened due to several cases. According to the NRW Ministry of Agriculture, 8,000 animals have been killed and disposed of in a company in the Gütersloh district and around 80 animals in a hobby facility in Münster in the past few days. Exclusion zones have been set up around the affected areas, in which particularly strict conditions apply to poultry farmers.
In NRW, avian influenza reappeared for the first time in six months at the beginning of October. Affected was a hobby in Bottrop with 120 ducks, geese and chickens, all of which had to be killed and disposed of.
Avian influenza is a viral, highly contagious infectious disease affecting livestock species and other birds. The risk of infection for humans is considered low.
