site.btaBird Flu Outbreak Detected in North Central Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has declared an outbreak of Avian Influenza A (bird flu) in the village of Varbitsa, North Central Bulgaria. The virus was detected in a breeding facility for Pekin ducks that keeps about 37,000 fowl.

A 3-kilometre protection zone has been established around the affected breeding site, which includes the Varbitsa and Gorski Dolen Trambesh villages of Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality. A 10-kilometre surveillance zone has been set up including the villages of Gorski Goren Trambesh, Pisarevo and Draganovo as well as the town of Dolna Oryahovitsa of Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality, the villages of Tsarski Izvor, Sushitsa and Bryagovitsa of Strazhitsa Municipality, and the villages of Dzhulyunitsa, Dobri Dyal and Kozarevets of Lyaskovets Municipality.

In order to control the outbreak, the sick and contact birds in the facility will be humanely killed and disposed of under official supervision.

An epizootic survey and monitoring of the movements of poultry and other birds, eggs, products, and animal by-products derived therefrom, poultry feed, and of the means of transport related to the technological process in the establishments will be carried out.

Poultry meat and products coming from a farm where an outbreak of bird flu has been detected do not pose a risk to human health, the BFSA said.