Bernburg. The all-clear has been given, albeit with due caution: from Tuesday 7 April, the general order issued to protect against avian influenza in the Salzlandkreis district – which had been imposed following an outbreak in a turkey flock in the Bördekreis district – will be lifted. This also brings to an end the mandatory housing requirements for poultry farms in the Egelner Mulde area.
This was triggered at the beginning of February by a turkey fattening farm affected by avian influenza in the neighbouring district. The effects of the animal health protection measures in a ten-kilometre radius reached as far as the Salzland district.
"With the rising temperatures, more intense sunlight and the decline in bird migration in the area, the virus, which is repeatedly excreted, will hopefully only remain infectious for a short time," says official vet Christian Lutter, assessing the changed situation. However, he also emphasises: "The danger posed by the virus remains a real and permanent threat. The warnings to poultry farmers, biosecurity when entering stables and the segregation of traded poultry are really vital - in the truest sense of the word."