Bird flu all-clear for Christmas geese

Minister gives the all-clear for bird flu after bird flu

01/12/2014

After hearing about the new bird flu virus H5N8 over the past few weeks, many consumers are worried about poultry meat. Federal Minister of Agriculture Christian Schmidt has now given the all clear. At Christmas dinner, he sees no reason to worry.

Christmas roast is secured
Against the background of bird flu, Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt (CSU) gave the all-clear for Christmas. According to a news agency AFP, the politician said to the „image“-Newspaper, that the people in Germany do not have to worry about the party roast. „I can calm down: at present, all studies show that the geese and ducks are safe“, so Schmidt. Investigations conducted near the infected wild duck would not have revealed any further cases. However, his ministry is still investigating, „how the affected poultry could be infected“.

Avian influenza virus near Wildente in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Last weekend, the authorities had informed that for the first time in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in a wild duck the bird flu virus H5N8 was detected. According to information from the local authorities, the pathogen was first detected outside livestock in Europe. In fattening farms in Germany, Holland and England, the virus had already been detected. Meanwhile, a new case of bird flu has been reported by the Dutch authorities. Accordingly, a poultry farm in western Zoeterwoude was affected with 28,000 birds. As the Ministry of Economics said, it is still unclear whether this is also the H5N8 virus. For safety reasons, the farm was sealed off and all animals should be killed.

Virus subtype previously occurred only in Asia
The virus subtype H5N8 previously appeared only in Asia. In particular, the variants H7N9 and H5N1 have proven to be particularly dangerous in the past. In infected people, the typical bird flu symptoms often only became apparent after weeks, which at first usually resemble those of a conventional flu. Patients usually suffer from high fever, cough, sore throat and sometimes respiratory distress. Rarer symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. (Ad)