Bird Flu Detected at Poultry Farm in Nitra Region

Komarno/Bratislava, 5 February (TASR) – Avian influenza has been detected at a commercial poultry farm in Calovec in the Nitra region, Chief Veterinary Officer Martin Chudy told TASR on Thursday. Chudy added that a positive result from samples tested for the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of the H5N1 subtype was confirmed on Wednesday, 4 February, by the National Reference Laboratory. Suspicion of contagion arose after the death of about 400 turkeys within a single day. The holding originally contained a total of 36,000 birds. Mortality in the first infected turkey hall has already reached 100 percent, with 7,000 birds having died by 5 February, said Chudy. All movements on the farm have been halted since 3 February. During Thursday, equipment together with a depopulation unit from the State Veterinary and Food Administration is being moved to the outbreak site. The start of depopulation of the farm is planned for Friday, 6 February. According to estimates, the depopulation work should take two to three days. The defined restriction zone consists of a protection zone with a radius of at least three kilometres from the outbreak. mf