'Very, very worrying' - Highly contagious bird flu outbreak at Carlow farm raises alarm

The Irish Farmers' Association has warned that the strain of bird flu discovered at a commercial turkey farm in Carlow is "very, very worrying."

The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu as it is commonly known, was detected at the farm in Carlow which has a flock of around 500 turkeys. Since the discovery, a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone has been implemented around the turkey farm to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus.

The news follows the recent detection of the virus in Fota Wildlife Park which has been forced to close until the end of November due to the outbreak. The virus has been identified in over 40 wild birds across Ireland this year, however the Carlow farm is the first outbreak in a commercial poultry flock in two years.

The outbreak has raised concern across the country, with the National Chair of the IFA's Poultry Committee, Nigel Sweetman, appearing on RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Wednesday morning to discuss the discovery in Carlow.

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Speaking on the show, Sweetman said: "It's a mutating disease and every year presents in a new form and new challenges. It arrived probably a month earlier than normal, and in different geographical locations, with two outbreaks in Cork, where we haven't seen it very much before.

"So it's all together, very, very worrying, and particularly for the farmer involved. It's his livelihood."

He urged all farmers to get in contact with their vets if they have concerns about their flock or have spotted dead birds on their land, as the turkeys in Carlow became infected by wild birds and now the flock has to be euthanised.

Also on Morning Ireland was Chief Veterinary Officer Dr June Fanning at the Department of Agriculture. Dr Fanning assured that the flock in Carlow is relatively small in terms of commercial operations and that the State and poultry sector have plenty of experience in dealing with such outbreaks.

Although, she did say that "it is highly contagious, so it is a threat" and strongly advised farmers to take the necessary measures to minimise risk.

She said: "Biosecurity is really, really important. So this is simple things. Even if you've only one or two birds or a commercial poultry flock, it's, you know, changing dedicated footwear, changing clothes, before you interact with the birds.

"Feeding them away from wild birds, reducing that interaction between wild birds and kept birds, reducing the number of visitors onto a holding, cleaning and disinfecting vehicles. So very simple."