Bird flu confirmed at Gelderland farm; 60,000 birds to be culled

Bird flu has been confirmed at a laying-hen farm in Oosterwolde, in the municipality of Oldebroek, Gelderland, and about 60,000 birds are to be culled, the Dutch government says. A 10-kilometre restriction zone has been imposed around the site, with a transport ban covering birds, eggs, poultry manure and used litter.

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) will screen poultry farms within three kilometres of the infected site. Two farms are within one kilometre and three within three kilometres; 13 farms lie in the wider 10-kilometre zone. Farms in the inner one-kilometre zone will be monitored by telephone for 14 days.

The NVWA is also tracing potentially risky contacts to establish whether poultry or products were moved to or from the farm before the infection was reported. Authorities may order extra testing or block a contact farm if necessary.

The outbreak comes amid nationwide bird-flu controls introduced on 28 October. Commercially kept birds must be housed indoors, while certain birds kept by hobbyists must be shielded. Visits to sites with commercially kept birds are restricted to cases deemed necessary for public health, animal health, animal welfare or the health of people in the buildings.