Planas rules out a mutation of avian flu and calls for maintaining biosecurity

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, assured this Thursday that "there has been no mutation" of the avian flu virus in Spain following the appearance of a dead fox in Zaragoza due to the disease and has called for maintaining biosecurity measures to prevent transmission. In statements to journalists in Córdoba, before participating in a meeting of the International Olive Council (IOC), the minister pointed out that veterinary services "have not detected changes in the behavior of the virus" and the case of the dead fox is due to a "single transmission and not an alteration of the virus." He clarified that the animal was infected "due to the viral load it had from the possible birds it may have consumed," so "no mutation as such has occurred" and it is "an absolutely punctual issue." However, Planas has called for "maintaining preventive measures" and urged "maintaining the level of biosecurity adopted with the closure to the outside of the farms," which ...