LUKIĆ: 62,000 POULTRY EUTHANIZED

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 2 /SRNA/ - At a large farm in the municipality of Petrovo where avian influenza has been confirmed, 62,000 poultry were euthanized, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska said at a press conference today.

Assistant Minister for Veterinary Affairs Negoslav Lukić stated that there is no cause for panic, that the competent services are on the ground and are carrying out procedures prescribed by law, and that the sale of poultry and products from the farm has been banned. He added that monitoring will be carried out at all farms in the infected and at-risk area within a 10-kilometer radius, and appealed to farmers to pay close attention to the health status of their animals. Lukić emphasized that avian influenza is a disease of poultry and that the risk to public health is low, adding that meat currently on the market is safe. He explained that the risk may be high only for people who are in direct contact with infected poultry. Lukić noted that the virus is transmitted by wild birds and that teams will conduct a thorough investigation into how the virus may have entered the farm in Petrovo. According to him, intensive monitoring has been carried out over the past four years in order to detect the presence of the virus in a timely manner, with the Ministry’s priorities being the protection of domestic producers, preservation of market stability, and prevention of further spread. Lukić emphasized that exports of fresh chicken meat to European Union countries have been banned for 30 days, while eggs and processed poultry products are not subject to the ban. “These are EU procedures, and they impose a 30-day ban during which we are required to prove that the disease is not present on other farms,” Lukić said, adding that exports to countries in the region have not been banned. Regarding compensation for the affected farm, Lukić emphasized that the Ministry will assist in line with its capabilities. Chief Republic Veterinary Inspector Vladimir Milijević reminded that avian influenza has appeared in BiH for the fourth or fifth time, noting that it is not a highly contagious disease and does not easily transmit to humans. “The Veterinary Inspection is supervising the remediation of the site at the farm in Petrovo; disinfection and disinsection are being carried out, and enhanced measures have been introduced in the infected area within a three-kilometer radius around the farm and a ten-kilometer radius in the at-risk area,” Milijević said. He added that the disease has not spread so far, that enhanced surveillance has been introduced at other large poultry farms, and that it is necessary to strengthen biosecurity measures. The director of the “Dr Vaso Butozan” Veterinary Institute of Republika Srpska, Dragan Knežević, said that the Institute responded immediately after receiving a verbal report from the farm’s management. “We confirmed at the reference laboratory that this is the H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, and after that, we initiated all procedures to contain the disease. This is not an unfamiliar occurrence for us, and we have experience in dealing with it,” Knežević concluded.