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BIRD: This is an illustration image of a short-beaked goose, which is the same type of bird that has been found with bird flu in Rogaland. Photo: Perivani / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority confirms findings of bird flu in a short-beaked wild goose in Sandnes.
The bird flu that has spread across Europe in recent weeks has reached Norway. This is confirmed by a sample made by the Veterinary Institute of the short-beaked goose that was found dead in Sandnes.
– The most important thing now is to make sure that we do not get infected with our production animals, Ole-Herman Tronerud from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority tells VG.
Avian flu is of the H5N8 type, which is the same type that is currently seen in other parts of Europe. This is what is called “highly pathogenic”. This means that it can cause more serious disease in birds than a low pathogenic virus.
First time in Norway
This is the first time this form of bird flu has been detected in Norway.
According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, a human infection with this virus has never been detected.
To protect Norwegian animals from infection, farms in what is defined as a high-risk area must ensure that all their production animals are kept under tight roofs.
– Those within the high-risk zone will be obliged to do so, says Tronerud, who estimates that this will apply to all coastal municipalities from Rogaland and around the coast to Østfold.
In Norway, we have a separate regulation that explains what preventive measures must be taken now. The regulations include a ban on keeping poultry and other captive birds outdoors, as well as the use of outdoor water tanks and the duty to notify the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
Tronerud believes that Norwegian farms are well equipped to protect their animals.
– There have been requirements for protection against lice and infections for many years. Bird flu is just a disease. The fact that we have such a low prevalence of salmonella in Norway shows that we can maintain a good distinction between wild birds and domestic birds..
Ask people to notify the Norwegian Food Safety Authority
– How great is the danger that bird flu is now spreading to Norwegian farm animals?
– We consider the opportunity to be good enough for us to keep it out.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority encourages everyone who sees dead birds to notify them, so they can be tested for infection. Sick and dead birds should also not be touched due to other infectious agents such as salmonella.
Denmark recently raised the risk level from “very low” to “high” for bird flu after bird flu was found on November 6 in a peregrine falcon in Lolland.
Bird flu has spread across Europe in recent weeks. In the Netherlands, 190,000 chickens were culled after highly contagious bird flu was discovered on at least two farms. Animals have also been slaughtered in Denmark and France.
