Business with Christmas geese despite bird flu

Christmas Geese: Despite avian flu, the business runs undisturbed

11/30/2014

So far, the business with Christmas geese in Brandenburg is undisturbed despite bird flu. Last weekend, the bird flu virus H5N8 was discovered near Rügen at a wild duck. Experts warn against transmission to domestic poultry.

Avian influenza virus in wild duck
In Brandenburg, the business with Christmas geese is still undisturbed despite bird flu. According to a report by the dpa news agency, the poultry industry association Brandenburg announced on Friday, on request, that the slaughtering for the festival had already started at the beginning of November. After the avian influenza virus H5N8 was discovered at a wild duck on the island of Ummanz near Rügen (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) last weekend, the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut warns of the risk of transmission of the wild bird pathogen to domestic poultry

Stall duty for poultry in risk areas
As Brandenburg's Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister Helmuth Markov (left) said on Friday at the RBB's Inforadio, however, no cases of bird flu have been reported in either state. In the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Uckermark, there is a duty for poultry as a precautionary measure for risk areas. In addition, the Senate Department for Consumer Protection in Berlin has recommended that districts be given a poultry housing poultry duty, which should apply to the vicinity of 13 waters where wild birds often settle.

Symptoms often show up only after weeks
The virus subtype H5N8, which was discovered in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, was until recently only found in Asia. In September, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned against the new bird flu variant H5N6, which is highly contagious. In recent years, H7N9 and H5N1 in particular have proven to be particularly dangerous. Often in infected people only after weeks showed typical bird flu symptoms. These are usually initially similar to a conventional flu: It comes to high fever, cough, sore throat and sometimes shortness of breath. Symptoms that are less common include diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. (Ad)