Portugal: Bird flu found in seagulls in Aveiro, Algarve

Portugal Resident With many saying that the developed world is being prepped for a new pandemic ‘and it is probably going to be bird flu’, bird flu has been detected in seagulls in the districts of Aveiro and Faro – but Portugal remains free of this disease in poultry. So say national veterinary authorities, the DGAV, which have given the Algarve areas of Albufeira, Ilha Deserta (Ria Formosa) and Olhos d’Água as sites where infected seagulls have been identified. Bird flu CAN make the jump to humans, and infected humans in certain cases have died – but these incidents are usually in countries where hygiene standards are extremely poor. For now, poultry keepers have been asked to “comply with biosecurity measures and good production practices, avoiding contact between domestic and wild birds”.

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