site.btaBird Flu Outbreak Confirmed on Farm in Krivo Pole, near Haskovo

An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in a layer poultry farm in the village of Krivo Pole, Haskovo, the press centre of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) said. The Influenza 1 virus was found in a facility where about 19,000 birds are kept. The facility has been affected by the infection for the third time.

An order was issued by the head of BFSA to announce and take measures to control the outbreak. The next step will be the humane disposal of diseased and contact birds in the sites under official supervision and in a manner that prevents the spread of the disease.

A three-kilometre safety zone, which includes three villages, and a 10-kilometre monitoring zone with 19 villages have been defined around the affected site. An epizootic survey and tracking of movements of domestic and other poultry, eggs, products and animal by-products is being carried out.

In Haskovo, the last cases of bird flu were at the end of last year in the farm in question in the village of Krivo Pole and on another site, and on January 11 of this year, the infection had also spread to a Pekin duck farm in the nearby village of Zhalti Bryag, Stambolovo municipality.