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The Wageningen Bioveterinary Research Institute has confirmed H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza in a turkey grow-out farm near Weert, in the Province of Limburg, the Netherlands. Seven other farms with a total of 66,000 birds are located within a 0.6 mile radius of the index farm but are all negative to avian influenza. Within a six-mile zone there are 128 farms with commercial poultry indicating the density of chickens and turkeys within the area.
The affected farm was depleted, and surveillance initiated within the six-mile zone that includes a part of Belgium.
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Location of Weert on border with Belgium |
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 There have been eleven outbreaks of HPAI in chickens, ducks or turkeys during the winter of 2020 extending through February 2021. Unlike in previous years, veterinary authorities continue to identify H5N8 in free-living birds suggesting that the virus is now endemic, serving as a risk factor for commercial poultry especially those allowed access to pasture.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza was diagnosed in 28 European nations affecting commercial poultry, wild birds and backyard flocks between October 2020 and May 2021.
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