A renewed wave of bird flu outbreaks across Europe has triggered heightened concern and urgent containment measures. Several countries — including Belgium and France — have ordered poultry to be kept indoors in an effort to halt the spread of the virus.
TRT World reported on Wednesday (22 October) that Belgium’s directive, effective from Thursday, follows the identification of bird flu at a poultry farm in the country. The Federal Food Safety Agency confirmed the move as a necessary step to curb wider transmission.
Europe has faced severe bird flu outbreaks in recent years, resulting in the death or culling of hundreds of millions of birds. The disruption has strained supply chains, caused food price hikes, and fueled fears of a potential new pandemic.
France implemented a similar mandatory indoor rule on Tuesday, underscoring growing regional alarm.
According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain was detected this week at a turkey farm near Diksmuide in northern Belgium. The outbreak killed 319 turkeys, while authorities culled an additional 67,110 birds to prevent further infection.
WOAH also reported a new outbreak at a poultry farm in Slovakia, signaling rapid transmission across multiple countries.
In the Netherlands, authorities announced on Wednesday that around 161,000 chickens will be culled after bird flu was detected at a central-eastern poultry facility.
