230,000 hens to be culled after bird flu confirmed in Lleida region

A bird flu outbreak was identified on Wednesday in the Lleida region, in western Catalonia, according to the agriculture ministry.

Minister Òscar Ordeig explained that the illness is "very contagious, and deadly, and it is compulsory to eliminate." Therefore, his office has activated the health alert, and to put in place restrictions within a 10-kilometer radius, where animals will not be able to move outside their farm.

The positive case has been spotted in Urgell county, in a farm with some 230,000 egg-laying hens, which will have to be completely culled.

Within a 3-km radius, surveillance will be enhanced, although the minister explained that there are no more farms within one kilometer, which will help isolate the outbreak.

The illness had been most recently spotted in Catalonia two years ago, in Arbeca (les Garrigues).

In a press conference, Ordeig reminded the public that the illness has no effects on humans when consuming meat or eggs.

However, the poultry sector warns that the bird flu outbreak could lead to a renewed rise in prices of related products, such as eggs, on the market.

According to Jordi Armengol, member of Unió de Pagesos farmers' trade union, the culling of animals on farms that test positive could lead to a "shortage or disruption in supply", meaning that products such as eggs would become more expensive.

The sector does not foresee such a high risk for the agriculture in Catalonia as with the african swine fever, because exports are not that crucial in the poultry sector.