30,000 chickens culled in Skåne after bird flu detected outside Sjöbo

Approximately 30,000 chickens have been culled after bird flu was detected at a facility outside Sjöbo. The infection was discovered on December 30.

Recently, 60,000 chickens were culled in the same area.

The infection was probably introduced via wild birds and not spread between the facilities, says Katarina Gillén of the Swedish Board of Agriculture on the radio.

Facts: Bird flu

Bird flu (avian influenza) is a disease that is primarily spread between birds. The disease is caused by several different variants of the bird flu virus. Some types of the virus can infect humans, but this is very rare. No human has been infected in Sweden so far.

Bird flu occurs every year in Sweden and Europe among wild birds. Wild aquatic birds, such as ducks and geese, can carry the virus without becoming ill, and they can spread the infection to other, more sensitive bird species, such as domestic chickens. Therefore, do not feed wild birds near facilities with domestic birds.

There are different forms of bird flu. The highly pathogenic form leads to very high mortality, causes epidemics that can spread rapidly, devastate the poultry industry and result in strict trade restrictions. The low pathogenic form of the virus usually causes only mild symptoms.

Source: Swedish Board of Agriculture