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Bird flu outbreak detected in Valencian Community
This is the first major incidence of avian flu in Spain in several months
Europe is still in the midst of the one of the worst avian flu epidemics in recent history which has resulted in the slaughter of millions of birds. The Ministry of Health has moved quickly in Spain over the last couple of years during which the virus has become prevalent in farms and wetlands, and no major incident has been reported since an infected wild grey heron was discovered in the Region of Murcia in February.
That is until this week, when the Department of Agriculture raised the alarm that a bird flu outbreak had been detected among aquatic birds in the Valencian Community. Allaying recent fears that the virus was mutating and spreading to humans, the authorities have confirmed that six people who have come into contact with the contaminated birds are all in good health and show no symptoms of infection.
The regional Department of Health has activated the protocol for the prevention, early detection and control of bird flu in people exposed to suspect birds and mink from the Ministry of Health, and the latest situation appears to be confined to the tern species.
Those known to have come into contact with the birds are being actively monitored by health professionals; their social interactions have been restricted and the six are undertaking regular PCR tests that will quickly alert the authorities in the unlikely event that the contagion spreads to people.
Transmission of avian flu from birds to humans is a "rare" phenomenon, as demonstrated by the "low number of cases detected in humans despite all the outbreaks confirmed in birds, and the probability of person-to-person transmission is even lower," the Health Department has assured.
Image: Freepik
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