Overview
- Germany has logged more than 100 poultry-farm outbreaks with roughly 1.5 million birds culled, over half of the cases in Lower Saxony, according to the FLI.
- FLI testing confirmed H5N1 in one stall at a Grafschaft Bentheim operation housing about 436,000 birds, and authorities are assessing whether the entire complex must be depopulated.
- Fresh controls expanded as three holdings in Kreis Kleve were confirmed with H5N1 and placed under protection and surveillance zones, and Brandenburg reported another outbreak in a 15,000-duck farm.
- Lower Saxony’s disease-control costs already reach into the millions, with the state animal-disease fund estimating about €17 million so far for culling, compensation, cleaning and disinfection.
- Health officials say properly cooked poultry and eggs remain safe to eat, while stall orders, registration and strict biosecurity are being enforced in several regions; Spain ordered a nationwide quarantine for free-range flocks.