Estonia reported outbreak of avian flu on farm

PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) - Estonia has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus at a farm in the north of the country, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Friday. The farm, located in the village of Urge in Rapla county, had 161 birds, including laying hens, ducks, geese, pigeons and peacocks, WOAH said, citing Estonian officials. On February 15, a laying hen suddenly died and was sent to the laboratory. On February 17, 16 laying hens also died, and on March 2, three geese, three peacocks and a duck also died, it said. All remaining birds were culled. The highly contagious avian flu virus has been spreading around the world, causing the deaths of more than 200 million birds since the beginning of last year and raising concern for governments and the poultry industry as it disrupts supplies, raises feed prices and poses a risk of transmission. for humans. The World Health Organization has described the ...