Avian flu emergency order for slaughter

Avian flu: ducks and geese must be tested before battles

23/12/2014

According to a new regulation, ducks and geese must be tested for bird flu before they can be slaughtered. The emergency ordinance is intended to curb the spread of the infection and will initially be valid until March next year. For humans exist according to recent findings no risk.

Ducks and geese have to be tested
From next Sunday, ducks and geese must be tested for bird flu before being sent to the slaughterhouse. This provides for an emergency order by Federal Minister of Agriculture Christian Schmidt (CSU), as the news agency dpa reports. The new regulation applies nationwide until 31 March 2015. It is said that at least 60 animals must be examined for the avian influenza virus before slaughterhouse transport. If only one animal was affected, the transport would not go to the slaughterhouse. Unlike turkeys and chickens, ducks and geese often show no signs of infestation with the bird flu virus H5N8.

Contain the spread of the infection
The purpose of the regulation is to reduce the spread of the infection, which is particularly dangerous for chicken birds. According to current knowledge, there is no risk for humans, even if they consume infected poultry. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute, the federal research institute for animal health, emphasized that so far no infection of humans with the virus H5N8 is known worldwide. Therefore, one sees no consumer risk at the moment. In addition, the vast majority of Christmas geese and ducks were already slaughtered anyway.

Virus subtype previously occurred only in Asia
The virus subtype H5N8, which has been detected twice in Lower Saxony in the past few days, only appeared in Asia until recently. In recent years, the H7N9 and H5N1 pathogens have proven to be particularly dangerous. In people who became infected, symptoms of avian influenza, which usually initially resemble those of conventional influenza, often became apparent only after weeks. Patients may experience high fever, cough, sore throat and, in some cases, shortness of breath. Symptoms, which are rare, include diarrhea, abdominal pain and nausea and vomiting. (Ad)