Culling: Avian flu: 15,000 ducks slaughtered in the Czech Republic

Because of an outbreak of bird flu, around 15,000 ducks have to be slaughtered in the Czech Republic.

Culling: Avian flu: 15,000 ducks slaughtered in the Czech Republic

Because of an outbreak of bird flu, around 15,000 ducks have to be slaughtered in the Czech Republic. The culling has already begun, as announced by the state veterinary authority. The H5N1 virus had been detected in a poultry farm in Frahelz near Jindrichuv Hradec.

The farm originally kept 22,000 ducks, but around 7,000 of them have succumbed to the disease within a few days. "This shows how aggressive the virus is and how the disease spreads," said the responsible medical officer, Frantisek Kouba, according to the CTK agency.

The ducks are believed to have contracted the virus from wild waterfowl. A protection zone with a radius of three kilometers and a surveillance zone were set up around the focus of infection. Frahelz is located in the South Bohemian Region, almost 200 kilometers east of Regensburg.

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