At the beginning of the week, Agriculture Minister Backhaus announced that the end of the recent wave of bird flu among livestock was in sight, but at the same time warned against being careless. As it turns out, the warning was justified.
Wismar (dpa / mv) - There was another case of bird flu on a farm in Northwest Mecklenburg. As the district office announced on Wednesday in Wismar, investigations in the responsible Friedrich Loeffler Institute have confirmed the entry of the highly contagious influenza virus H5N1 in the animal stock of the hobby owner in Kirch Grambow north of Gadebusch.
About 100 animals, mainly chickens, but also ducks and some geese, died or were killed from the disease, also known as avian influenza, and then disposed of to protect against the spread of the animal disease. The first disinfection measures had been carried out on the affected farm, it said.
As a further precautionary measure, a restricted area of three kilometers and a surveillance zone of ten kilometers around the small town was established. According to the district office, special regulations apply to these areas for at least three weeks for entering the farms, housing and selling animals.
According to initial findings, the new case is not related to the recent wave of bird flu in the north-east, which originated in the state poultry show in Demmin in mid-November. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, cases of infection were then registered in 56 attitudes. 3800 ducks, chickens and pigeons died or had to be killed. The district office said there was a farm pond on the property in Kirch Grambow that was now affected, to which the livestock had access and thus also contact with wild ducks.
"We have repeatedly warned of this particular risk and called for compliance with biosecurity regulations. I would like to make it clear once again that direct and indirect contact between wild birds and your own poultry stock must be prevented. Otherwise, the poultry must be put in the barn or in an aviary." , District Administrator Tino Schomann (CDU) emphasized.
Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) had also called for the risk of epidemics to be taken seriously. The virus is rampant among wild birds, which are currently still en masse in the country on their way south. Therefore, caution is required to prevent jumping over to the poultry.
