25.11.2021

On November 25, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) confirmed the first on-farm case of avian influenza since spring 2021 on a small backyard chicken farm (about 20 chickens) in Fischamend, Lower Austria. Avian influenza has been spreading in Europe since mid-October. The chickens from the affected flock either died or were culled under official supervision. The chicken operation has been closed. As a result of this outbreak, on November 25, the Ministry of Health, in agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and the federal states, issued an ordinance that made it mandatory to keep poultry inside a stable for farms within defined risk areas with more than 350 birds.
The proven H5N1 type is highly pathogenic and is spread in Europe through wild bird migration. Before the November 2021 outbreak, the last case of avian flu was detected in spring 2021, and it wasalso found on a small farm. Before 2021, avian flu had not been detected on a farm in Austria since2016/17 when the H5N8 virus was detected on two farms. Common factors in these two outbreaks(November 10, 2016 and January 17, 2017) which occurred in Vorarlberg and Burgenland include that they were located in the immediate vicinity of a lake and positive wild bird findings.