Credit: Nicky Sullivan

The Veterinary Services Administration of Luxembourg's Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development has confirmed the detection of a case of avian influenza (bird flu) in eastern Luxembourg.

On Monday, the Veterinary Services Administration (Administration des Services Vétérinaires - ASV) stated that a case of avian influenza A (H5N8) was confimed in a hobby farm in Olingen, a small town in the municipality of Betzdorf, following the import of poultry from a market in Belgium.

In order to limit the spread of the virus to other farms, the ASV has issued the following preventative biosecurity measures to keepers of poultry and birds:

  • all transport and display of live poultry is prohibited, except with special authorisation from the ASV;
  • it is strongly recommended that poultry be confined indoors or that poultry runs are covered with nets;
  • feeding and watering must be done inside buildings.

Any abnormal poultry mortality should be reported to a veterinarian or to the ASV (via tel.: 247-82539 or email: info@asv.etat.lu).

Throughout the year, the state veterinary laboratory (Laboratoire de médecine vétérinaire de l'Etat - LMVE) conducts scans to monitor the bird flu situation.

The ASV emphasised that the consumption of meat and eggs does not pose a risk to public health.