For clucks sake…
Tests conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have confirmed the presence of bird flu in a turkey flock in Monaghan.
The avian influenza H5N1 was confirmed via a test result published on Monday (22 November).
The Department has implemented a restriction zone around the area to reduce movement and add surveillance to combat the spread.
Cases of the disease have already been confirmed in Galway, Limerick, Offaly, Donegal, Roscommon, Tipperary, Wexford and Waterford.
Hundreds of cases of bird flu have been identified across Europe since early October, with confirmed cases being found in Italy, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Estonia, Czechia, Norway, Bulgaria, Belgium and the UK.
While the disease can cause serious damage to poultry and other birds, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has confirmed that risk to humans is very low.
There have not been any confirmed cases of H5N1 in humans in Europe, and there is no evidence of any risk associated with the consumption of poultry products.
As test results have identified evidence of #avianinfluenza H5N1 in samples from a turkey flock in #Monaghan, restriction zones are being set up around the area where additional movement control and surveillance measures will be put in place.#BirdFlu
📍https://t.co/N44Bw02XOW pic.twitter.com/dzneIxlBQ1
— Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (@agriculture_ie) November 22, 2021
Signs that animals may be infected are swollen heads, discolouration of neck and throat, loss of appetite, respiratory distress, diarrhoea and fewer eggs laid.
If poultry flock owners have any suspicion that their flock may be infected, the Government is asking that they report their findings to their nearest Department Regional Veterinary Office.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD has made regulations requiring that flock keepers keep all their poultry and captive birds in a secure building so that other wild birds or animals won’t have access to them.
These regulations came into force on Monday (22 November).
Members of the public are being advised not to handle sick or dead wild birds and to report sick or dead wild birds to the Regional Veterinary Office or contact the Department’s disease hotline on 01 492 8026.
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