Sweden Sees Record Outbreak of Bird Flu as Corpses Are Gathered ‘in Heaps’
Чайки у берега Балтийского моря в Тиммендорфер-Штранд, Германия
Bird flu attacks the brain and central nervous system, causing severe inflammation and making the bird lose control of its body. In videos circulating on social media, sick swans are seen aimlessly swimming around in circles.In the last weeks of July, huge amounts of sick and dead seabirds have been found on the Swedish island of Gotland and along the country’s coastline, with the bird flu epidemic reaching record levels, national broadcaster SVT reported.Swedish beaches and archipelagos are strewn with hundreds of dead swans, geese, gulls and even birds of prey such as peregrine falcons, prompting locals to take matters into their own hands and dispose of the bodies themselves, gathering them in heaps, the broadcaster said.
“I have never seen so many dead birds. They lie and float everywhere,” a local man on the island of Brännö told SVT, complaining of the stench.
Ornithologist Anders Wirdheim, chairman of Halmstad’s ornithological association, confirmed that it was perfectly acceptable to describe the situation as a “disaster”.“We will lose many birds and the world will be much the poorer for it,” he told SVT.Zoologist Karl Ståhl of the Swedish Veterinary Institute said that Europe has never experienced such a large and widespread outbreak of bird flu.Particularly worrying, according to Ståhl, is that the virus has “oversummered”. Normally, this type of outbreak usually occurs in the winter months, only to subside over the summer. However, this is the second year in a row when this was not the case.
“What we are now seeing, with continued spread of infection and high morbidity and mortality among wild birds in the middle of summer, is a completely new scenario. There are therefore many indications that the season ahead will also be problematic, with an increased risk of outbreaks among domestic birds,” Ståhl told SVT.
Ståhl urged the owners of domestic birds to pay particularly careful attention to the health of their animals. On Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, chicken herders have already started shielding their animals from possible contact with wild birds.
Starving Danish Seagulls ‘Turn to Cannibalism Due to Closure of Mink Farms’ 27 July, 07:07 GMTThe flu attacks the brain and central nervous system, causing severe inflammation and making the bird lose control of its body. In videos circulating on social media, flu-ridden swans are seen swimming around in circles in a seemingly uncontrolled manner.The risk that the present strain of bird flu would infect humans has been assessed as very low by the country’s Public Health Agency. Still, the general recommendation is to avoid touching sick or dead birds.
