Norway: Bird flu detected in hobby bird farms in Trøndelag
The Veterinary Institute has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a hobby bird farm in Frøya municipality in Trøndelag. The birds were sampled after several hens died suddenly. Due to suspicion of illness, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority was notified and then took samples which were sent to the Veterinary Institute for analysis. At the time of sampling, 16 hens and two ducks were dead. The virus that has been detected in the samples from the birds is a H5N5 HPAI. This is the first time this subtype of the virus has been detected in domesticated birds in Norway. Several discoveries of this type of virus have been made in wild birds in Norway during October and November this year.
The Veterinary Institute has also detected bird flu virus of the same subtype in seagulls in Nord-Troms following the discovery of a large number of dead seagulls in a small area.
Since 2020, there have been outbreaks of HPAI in five commercial poultry flocks, three hobby poultry farms and two bird parks in Norway.
