Cases of bird flu have been detected in Belgium, France and Netherlands recently. Photograph used for representational purposes only
| Photo Credit: RAO GN
Belgium has ordered that all poultry be kept indoors from Thursday, October 23, following the detection of a bird flu outbreak, the federal food safety agency said, as Europe faces a strong resurgence of the disease
The spread of bird flu has raised concerns among governments and the poultry industry after it killed or led to the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry in recent years, disrupting supply, fuelling higher food prices and raising the risk of a new pandemic.
Neighbouring France took a similar decision to Belgium earlier this week, and the Netherlands, last week.
An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, was detected on a turkey farm near Diksmuide in the north of Belgium this week, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on October 22. The H5N1 strain of bird flu killed 319 birds while the rest of the 67,110-strong flock was slaughtered, the Paris-based WOAH said in the report posted on its website, citing Belgian authorities.
The WOAH also said on October 22 that Slovakia had reported an outbreak of bird flu on a poultry farm, in a sign that the deadly virus continues to spread rapidly in Europe.
In its latest outbreak, the Netherlands will cull around 161,000 chickens at a poultry farm in the central-eastern region of the country after bird flu was detected there, the government had said in a statement on October 22.
Outbreak in Japan
Japan has also reported an outbreak of severe bird flu on an egg farm in the northern part of the country, the WOAH said on October 22.
Avian influenza killed 46 birds on the farm located in the town of Shiraoi on Hokkaido island, WOAH said, citing a report from Japanese authorities.
The report did not say how many birds were in the flock nor give details about the type of bird flu virus.
Published – October 23, 2025 04:48 pm IST
