Overview
- Laboratory testing at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research confirmed avian influenza in a deceased kitten from a goat farm, with milk goats and adult cats on the farm testing negative.
- Seven other kittens from the same litter also died, and authorities consider exposure to an infected wild-bird carcass the most likely route of infection.
- An RIVM expert group rates the risk to the general population as very low and to people working with infected animals as moderate, with no human infections from cats or dogs recorded in the Netherlands.
- RIVM and partner agencies sent national guidance to veterinarians detailing sampling procedures and protective equipment for suspected cases in cats and dogs.
- NVWA continues containment at poultry sites, including culling about 4,700 ducks in Nijkerk and enforcing confinement, tighter visitor bans, movement restrictions, and precautionary measures at zoos and petting farms.