WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Authorities in eastern Poland say bird flu is responsible for the deaths of at least 25,000 turkeys in poultry farms near the country's borders with Ukraine and Belarus.
Polish veterinary authorities on Thursday were planning to cull tens of thousands of birds in the Lubartow area, a major poultry farming region. Police were blocking access to the affected area to non-residents.
The chief veterinarian for Lublin province, Pawel Piotrowski, confirmed that the deadly H5N8 virus was responsible for the turkey deaths in two farms in the village of Stary Uscimow, which lies 28 miles from the borders with Ukraine and Belarus.
It was not clear how the bird flu virus found its way to the farms.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
-
Bird flu drives free-range hens indoors to protect poultry April 21, 2022
-
US bird flu case puts chicken, turkey farms on high alert February 15, 2022 -
Thousands of cranes killed by bird flu in northern Israel December 27, 2021