The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Quality (LNV) has largely withdrawn the requirement for poultry to be kept indoors with effect from 26 March 2024. This decision is based in part on the findings of the expert council, which includes Wageningen Bioveterinary Research. In the past two months, there have been no more outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in kept poultry.
Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR, part of Wageningen University & Research) tested another dozen dead wild birds positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) in January 2024. In February, only one of 15 wild birds submitted tested positive for HPAI, and no dead wild birds tested positive in March. Analyses by fellow research institutes in live wild birds show that no HPAI is found there either. The last outbreak among kept birds dates from 1 December 2023. "In general, it is relatively quiet in Western Europe when it comes to HPAI," confirms WBVR researcher Evelien Germeraad, who represents WBVR in the Expert Group on Animal Diseases which advises the ministry of LNV.
Duty to raise
For the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), the bird flu situation in the Netherlands and surrounding countries is reason to lift the obligation to keep bird flocks indoors. An exception is made for areas with a high poultry density: the Gelderse Vallei and the Limburg Peel.
Migratory birds
According to experts, some of the migratory birds have already migrated north. The migratory birds that will still visit our country on their way to higher ground come from regions where it is known that HPAI hardly occurs. This prompted the expert council to lower the risk estimate to 'low to moderate'. "With lifting the obligation to keep poultry indoors in large parts of the country, it is even more important to be vigilant," Germeraad stressed. "The risk is low, but not zero."
United States
It was announced this week that HPAI had been found in cows and goats in the United States. Both cases involved infection with the H5N1 virus. "Statements from United States Department of Agriculture indicate that this is the same virus found in poultry elsewhere in the United States. Therefore, there is no mutation of the virus that made it adapted to mammals," Germeraad said.
Genome studies are currently being conducted to understand the origin of the virus.
