H5N2 Avian Flu Confirmed in Dutch Layer Flock
THE NETHERLANDS - The low-pathogenic avian influenza virus detected in a free-range layer flock last week has been identified as the H5N2 subtype.
According to the veterinary authority in the Netherlands in an Immediate Notification to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) dated 7 April, the low-pathogenic avian flu virus subtype has been identified as the H5N2 variant.
The outbreak started on 1 April in a flock of 12,000 free-range layers at Milheeze in the province of Noord-Brabant (North Brabant) in the east of the country. All the birds have been destroyed.
A one-kilometre restriction zone around the farm was established on 3 April 2015. There is another premises with poultry within that zone, where the birds are being tested for the virus.
H7 variants of the virus have been confirmed recently in Dutch poultry flocks.
