Bird flu invades a Czech farm
Following the death of over 100,000 animals following a bird flu outbreak, Czech vets are set to cull 80,000 hens at a farm.
Czech vets are set to cull 80,000 hens at a farm where over 100,000 animals have died because of the bird flu since late last week, the state veterinary office said Tuesday.
About 45 kilometers north of Prague, a farm in Libotenice had a total of 188,000 hens before Christmas. "The culling of hens from halls affected by bird flu is underway," State Veterinary Administration Spokesperson Petr Majer told AFP.
"The numbers show that this strain, the highly pathogenic H5N1, is very aggressive and kills hens in a particularly fast and on a mass scale," he added. He said vets would also destroy over a million eggs from the farm.
The Czech Republic registered up to 48 outbreaks of bird flu this year, which is the highest number ever recorded in a calendar year in history.
In addition to the Czech Republic, the disease is currently plaguing Europe, with France reporting an outbreak in its foie gras producing Landes region last week.