Avian influenza in Luxembourg near the Trier-Saarburg district

After an outbreak of avian influenza in the Luxembourg municipality of Betzdorf, the surveillance zone set up around the restricted area extends into the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Trier-Saarburg. The Saarland is not part of this surveillance zone, in which the animals are generally required to be stabled. Nevertheless, due to the spatial proximity, special caution is required. That said the State Secretary in the Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection, Sebastian Thul. The animal disease was found in a hobby farm with 60 animals (laying hens, silkies, ducks, turkeys). All animals had to be killed. According to previous studies, the virus was introduced via imported silkies from Belgium. “A common transmission route is also the virus entry via wild birds. Farm poultry farmers with free-range or free-range facilities must therefore strictly adhere to the prescribed biosecurity measures in order to prevent their animals from coming into contact with wild birds. In ...