Bird flu detected on Dutch poultry farm

Bird flu, or avian influenza, was detected on a poultry farm with 9,000 hens in the Dutch town of Tzum, in the northern province of Friesland, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs reported on Saturday. It's probably a mild H7 version of the bird flu virus which is not dangerous to human health, it said. But the low pathogenic mild variant can mutate into one that is highly pathogenic, highly contagious and deadly for chickens. Therefore, the chickens on the farm will be cleared, according to European rules. From Saturday morning, a transport ban of poultry, eggs and poultry manure was established in an area of over one kilometer around the farm in Tzum. According to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it was the fourth time this year bird flu was detected on a Dutch farm. Earlier this year, a total of 120,000 chickens were cleared on farms in Lochem, Zeewolde and Leusden.