According to experts, the recent epidemic of avian influenza was the worst so far.
Others of this magnitude could follow.
Greifswald / Kiel - Violent avian influenza epidemics like last season could become the rule according to experts.
“This scenario cannot actually be ruled out,” said the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) on the island of Riems near Greifswald.
"Studies of the current pathogen have shown that it is very similar to that from last winter." According to the FLI, Germany and Europe experienced the most pronounced spread of avian influenza to date between the end of October 2020 and April 2021.
There was increasing evidence that, unlike in previous years, the virus also survived the summer in Europe.
"This means that new outbreaks in poultry stocks may no longer be dependent on an influx of infected migratory birds."
Most recently, there were the first detected avian influenza cases this autumn in several federal states.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania alone, almost 350,000 animals fell victim to the previous epidemic, according to the Schwerin Ministry of Agriculture.
There was an economic loss of around 5.7 million euros.
"We hope that there will be no repetition in broad terms this year," said Silvia Ey, Managing Director of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Poultry Association.
"But we can't look into the crystal ball here."
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Owners are called upon to prevent their animals from coming into contact with wild animals as far as possible.
According to the FLI, vaccinations could be useful as an accompanying measure if the outbreak intensity continues to increase or if viruses dominate that are more easily transmitted to humans.
dpa
