Bird Flu Outbreaks on German Farms Lead to Mass Culling

Xinhua/APP

Berlin: The highly contagious H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected on three poultry farms in Germany, according to local authorities, leading to the culling of tens of thousands of animals.

At the most severely affected location, a turkey farm, it was the second bird flu outbreak this year. The first outbreak led to the culling of 17,000 animals in March, while 25,000 have been culled in the current outbreak.

“It is to be feared that the situation will continue to gather pace as the cold season approaches,” said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister of Agriculture, Till Backhaus, urging farmers to slaughter their animals early to “avert the threat of financial losses.”

Like the H3N8 virus, which is known as the equine influenza virus, H5N1 has already been detected in humans. However, according to current research, transmission between humans is not yet possible.

Last year, Europe was hit by the worst bird flu season on record. According to the responsible authorities of the European Union, a total of 50 million birds were culled due to the virus between October 2021 and September 2022.