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Bird flu: EU talks as Netherlands battles outbreak | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
The European Commission is discussing protective measures to contain a "highly contagious" strain of bird flu discovered at a poultry farm in the Netherlands. | |
The measures will include killing all contaminated animals and the cleaning of their holding areas. | |
The Dutch government said the strain, H5N8, could potentially affect humans. | The Dutch government said the strain, H5N8, could potentially affect humans. |
Authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp. | |
"This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement (in Dutch). | |
"The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans." | "The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans." |
The Dutch economics ministry says humans can only be infected through very close contact with infected birds. | |
The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs. | The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs. |
The European Commission is set to announce "appropriate measures" to contain the outbreak on Monday, a spokesman told the BBC. | |
Lorries at the scene appear to be carrying dead chickens and gas canisters, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from the Hekendorp farm. | |
A 10-km (six-mile) exclusion zone has been set up, our correspondent adds. | |
The farm reportedly sold eggs rather than poultry. Its produce was sold primarily in the Netherlands, with some also exported to Germany. | |
Earlier this month, a farm in Germany detected cases of H5N8, which had previously not been reported in Europe. | |
The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it. | The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it. |
Dangerous strains | |
Meanwhile, officials in the UK have confirmed at least one case of bird flu in Yorkshire, but insisted the risk to public health was "very low". | |
A cull of poultry is being carried out at the site and an exclusion zone is in place. | A cull of poultry is being carried out at the site and an exclusion zone is in place. |
The strain has not been confirmed, but the deadly H5N1 form, which can infect humans, has been ruled out by officials. | |
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, has several different strains. | |
Most forms do not infect humans, but the H5N1 and H7N9 strains have caused serious infections in people, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. | |
The majority of those infected had come into close contact with live or dead poultry. | |
There is no evidence to suggest the H5N1 and H7N9 viruses can be passed to humans through properly prepared poultry or eggs, the WHO says. | |
The H5N1 strain has a mortality rate of about 60% in humans, and led to 384 deaths between 2003 and December 2013, according to WHO figures. | |
Common symptoms for bird flu include a high fever and coughing. |