Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease for domestic poultry and is characterized by severe general signs of illness. In contrast to waterfowl such as geese and ducks, the disease is often acute in poultry species such as chickens or turkeys. Waterfowl, on the other hand, are often asymptomatic, but can spread the pathogen.
In the run-up to the outbreak, the chickens' laying performance was reduced. The farmer had observed an increased number of sick animals and a few had already died. For this reason, the farmer informed the veterinary and food inspection department of the district office. There is currently no information that other poultry farms have been affected. An introduction of the pathogen by wild birds can also be ruled out, as the poultry is kept indoors only. It can therefore currently be assumed that this is a solitary outbreak. It is likely that the virus was introduced through the purchase of poultry from a poultry breeding and trading company in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the farm itself, the veterinary authorities have taken all necessary disease control measures to prevent the further spread of avian influenza. Today, Wednesday, all the laying hens in the flock were killed for reasons of disease hygiene and animal welfare and sent for rendering. The farm will then be cleaned and disinfected.
The District Office urges all other buyers from the district of Ludwigsburg who purchased laying hens from a poultry farm in North Rhine-Westphalia in March to contact the Veterinary and Food Inspection Department, as it cannot be ruled out that they are infected with the avian influenza pathogen. Furthermore, irrespective of the current epidemiological situation, reference is made to the biosecurity measures that are intended to prevent the introduction of animal disease pathogens into poultry farming. The necessary biosecurity measures and hygiene rules can be found on the website of the Ministry of Consumer Protection and Rural Areas: https://mlr.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/unsere-themen/tierschutz-tiergesundheit/tiergesundheit/tierkrankheiten-tierseuchen-zoonosen/vogelgrippe/. Many answers on the subject of avian influenza can also be found there.
The establishment of restriction zones is currently being reviewed on a risk-oriented basis. Depending on the situation in these zones, various official measures would then also have to be observed, such as an obligation to keep poultry in the restricted area or trade restrictions for eggs, live poultry or slaughtered meat from these. In this context, it is once again pointed out that, against the background of avian influenza, it is of great importance that all poultry keepers, such as chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl or quails, who have not yet registered their holdings with the veterinary authorities, do so, regardless of the number of animals kept.
Further information can be found on the website of the Friedrich-Löffler-Institut(https://www.fli.de/de/aktuelles/tierseuchengeschehen/aviaere-influenza-ai-gefluegelpest/).
