Netherlands battles outbreak of Bird flu

The European Commission is discussing protective measures to contain a "highly contagious" strain of bird flu discovered at a poultry farm in the Netherlands.

The measures will include killing all contaminated animals and the cleaning of their holding areas.

The Dutch government said the strain, H5N8, could potentially affect humans.

Authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp.

"This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement (in Dutch).

"The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans."

The Dutch economics ministry says humans can only be infected through very close contact with infected birds.

The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs.

The European Commission is set to announce "appropriate measures" to contain the outbreak on Monday, a spokesman told the BBC.

Lorries at the scene appear to be carrying dead chickens and gas canisters, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from the Hekendorp farm.

A 10-km (six-mile) exclusion zone has been set up, our correspondent adds.

The farm reportedly sold eggs rather than poultry. Its produce was sold primarily in the Netherlands, with some also exported to Germany.

Earlier this month, a farm in Germany detected cases of H5N8, which had previously not been reported in Europe.

The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it. 

culled from BBC.....