The chief veterinarian has confirmed that the bird flu virus found in poultry in Hungary last week was the highly infectious H5N1 strain infectious to humans as well .
As chief veterinarian Miklos Suth said,‘This afternoon we received confirmation from the British laboratory that it was the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza which had infected poultry in Hungary.’This is the first report of the H5N1 virus in poultry in Hungary.
Suth reassured the people saying that the test result had not caught them by surprise and that the government had taken measures to protect health, ‘By the time the confirmation arrived, all poultry within the one-kilometer protective zone in Bacs-Kiskun county had been culled.’
Hungary has slaughtered well over 300,000 animals, mainly ducks and geese, in the affected area. It may cull up to half a million in total, putting the damage at more than 8.5 billion forints ($39.47 million) according to farming Minister Jozsef Graf.
