Diseases: Bird flu detected on 21 Finnish fur farms

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Diseases
Avian flu detected on 21 Finnish fur farms

The black-headed gull is believed to be the carrier of bird flu in Finland. photo

© Carsten Rehder/dpa

The Finnish health authority considers bird flu to be a public health hazard. How can the further spread be stopped?

The one believed to be transmitted by seagulls Bird flu continues to spread to fur farms in Finland. According to previous knowledge, it has now been found on 21 farms, the Finnish health authority THL announced on Friday. First results from whole genome sequencing indicated that wild birds, especially the black-headed gull, were the source of infection. Avian flu viruses with mutations that increased the replication of the virus in mammalian cells had been discovered on two farms.

The Finnish Food Safety Authority ordered this week that all mink on farms where bird flu infections have been found must be culled. How many animals have been culled since then is unclear. Finnish radio on Tuesday spoke of an estimated 70,000 fur animals that would have to be killed, including 30,000 mink and 40,000 foxes. That number is likely to have increased since then. Animal protection organizations criticized the mass killings that were caused and fur farming in general.

The health authority considers bird flu to be a public health threat and has urged fur farms to better protect their animals from contact with birds. The matter has a significance that goes beyond Finland’s national borders, the agency stressed. International health authorities and scientists were also concerned that the adaptation of the virus to mammals could, in the worst case, lead to the emergence of a new variant of the flu virus.

dpa

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