Again bird flu suspected cases in Lower Saxony

Bird flu suspicion in the district of Emsland - security measures initiated

21/12/2014

The fight against bird flu in Lower Saxony continues. Although initial easing of the security measures was announced for January 2015, after no further cases were revealed in all other samples examined by Thursday. However, the authorities continue to work hard to identify potential outbreaks. „Several thousands of samples taken from the Restricted Area as well as from identified contact companies from Cloppenburg County are examined by the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food“, so the message of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture. In the district of Emsland, self-control investigations have now revealed the suspicion of bird flu.

So far, the result is available for more than 1,000 samples and this is negative in all cases, reports the Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture Christian Meyer (Greens). Give this „Hope to limit the epidemic, but is no reason to be all-clear“, said the minister on Thursday. The so-called stall still applies in the districts of Cloppenburg, Ammerland and Leer. „Birds kept in this area may not be brought into or out of stock“, reports the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture. Here is only an exception for day old chicks. You may, according to the Ministry „from a hatchery within the Stand Still area into a stock outside that zone.“ On Friday, the ministry reported further bird flu suspicions in the district of Emsland.

Security measures in the district of Cloppenburg
For its part, the Cloppenburg district has until 18 January 2015 imposed a so-called reloading ban on poultry houses within a certain area in order to thicken the high population density and thus prevent further disease plague, reports the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The district also reports that on Friday „90,000 chickens in a small and large population in a 1 km radius around the disease stock killed and harmless eliminated“ were. Currently, there are no other suspected cases of bird flu in the district of Cloppenburg.

New suspected cases in the Emsland
In the meantime, two ducks became involved in control investigations of bird flu in the district of Emsland „suspicious outcome of the bird flu virus H5“ stated, reports the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture. The self-inspection study in a breeding and fattening farm for ducks in the district of Emsland had according to the so-called PCR method, the detection of avian influenza virus H5, according to the official release. The samples were immediately forwarded to the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) in Oldenburg for examination and, in parallel, an examination was carried out in the national reference laboratory of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) on the island of Riems. „The district of Emsland has blocked the operation concerned and is immediately investigating further measures“, so the message of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture.

120,000 animals have already been killed
The managing director of the Lower Saxony poultry industry, Dieter Oltmann, is appointed by the „South German newspaper“ (SZ) cited the statement that the industry, „if it stays that way and we get away with it, great luck“ have had. However, the new cases of suspicion raise doubts as to whether the state with the largest poultry stocks in Germany has already weathered the crisis. According to Oltmann, a bigger happening would be the industry, however „cause great damage.“ Extensive security measures are therefore still required. The Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture Christian emphasized in this regard: „We will do everything expedient to prevent the bird flu from spreading.“ He hopes that this will not kill more animals. „Overall, about 120,000 animals were killed according to the current state“, so the message of the Ministry of Agriculture. (Fp)