Measures had to be taken by 30 poultry farms, mainly located in the northeast of the country. In particular, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, nearly 150,000 laying hens were destroyed at two sites. At the same time, it is planned to cull another 130,000 birds in Brandenburg.
According to forecasts from epidemiologists at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, the outbreak of the disease may continue. The main carriers of the H5N1 virus are migratory birds, which are currently heading south. These same birds are also susceptible to the disease: mass deaths of cranes have been reported in Brandenburg.
Farmers in Germany are expressing concerns about a possible shortage of eggs and poultry meat, citing the experience of the winter of 2020-2021, when more than two million birds died from bird flu.
Bird flu, or highly pathogenic avian influenza, is an acute infectious disease caused by RNA-containing type A influenza viruses that spread among wild and domestic birds. There are many strains of it, including H5N1, H7N9, and H5N8.
