New wave of bird flu among wild birds in northern Norway – news Troms and Finnmark

– After a summer and breeding season without major bird flu outbreaks, this autumn several cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been detected among wild birds in coastal areas in Norway and Europe. This is reported by the Veterinary Institute. There are most detections among seabirds, but also among seagulls and sea eagles in Northern Norway. – There is a risk that infected birds can spread the virus to more southern areas, as seagulls from the northernmost counties can move south in the coming weeks and months, they say. They say they expect more outbreaks in the future among poultry and kept birds in Europe because the infection among wild birds is increasing. “Autumn and winter are the time to have an extra focus on infection control for everyone who keeps poultry, whether it’s commercial or as a hobby,” emphasizes Silje Granstad, veterinarian and subject manager for poultry at the Veterinary Institute. According to the Veterinary Institute, there have been outbreaks of HPAI in five commercial poultry flocks, two hobby poultry farms and two bird parks in Norway in the last four years. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority recently reported that HPAI had been detected on a dead wild bird in Senja municipality. Published 22.10.2024, at 16.07 Updated 22.10.2024, at 4:30 p.m



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