Europe on fire as bird flu epidermic hits over 30,000 chickens and 9,000 turkeys

EUROPE could be hit by a bird flu epidemic after several countries reported outbreaks of the deadly and highly contagious strain H5N8.

Germany, Switzerland and Austria reported new outbreaks of the severe strain of bird flu on Saturday in the latest in a series of cases across the continent.

The H5N8 virus has also been found in Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia.

Though it has never been found in humans, the strain is particularly virulent in wild birds.

More than 30,000 chickens and 9,000 turkeys at a poultry farm in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, will now be culled after one case was reported.

And the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety confirmed a second outbreak at a chicken farm in Vorarlberg, close to the German and Swiss borders, where a further 4,000 birds would have to be slaughtered.

An Austrian poultry farm close to the chicken farm also tested positive for H5N8 on Friday.

Austrian farmer Klaus Flatz said: “Christmas is when we see our main turnover. We have to kill about 1,000 animals.

“For us this is a huge challenge to deal with both physically and mentally. We will have to see how we can cope with the situation economically.” 

Euronews