The new outbreak of bird flu hit the Zlín region in the Czech Republic. Twelve birds died out of over 400 different birds, such as geese, ducks, and turkeys, due to the spread of the H5N8 virus.
“As in the previous cases, a three-kilometer protection and surveillance zone with a radius of ten kilometers will be defined, and emergency veterinary measures will be declared in these zones,” Petr Vorlíček, a spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration (SVS), explained.
By now, seven regions of the Czech Republic have already confirmed outbreaks of bird flu in farms. These were recorded in farms of the Central Bohemian, Moravian-Silesian, South Bohemian, Pardubice, Plzeň, and Vysočina regions. Also, the disease was found in wild birds in Prague, Liberec, Olomouc, Zlín, and Ústí regions.
The outbreak of infections in small bird farms can cause problems to the commercial sector. According to the professional recommendations, small farms should keep themselves isolated from wild birds. Meanwhile, Zbyněk Semerád, the central director of SVS, recommended for citizens to avoid collecting dead birds from these regions. “Inform the locally competent regional veterinary administration about this fact,” Semerád added.
Last year, due to bird flu, farmers had to slaughter 137 000 birds. The virus is considered not to be dangerous to humans. However, this February, Russia registered the first case of the virus spread from a bird to a human. Gabriela Dlouhá, secretary of the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, adds that there is no need to panic: still, there is no registered case of humans getting a disease from processed birds or from human to human.
