Avian influenza has been detected on a fur farm in Kaustinen, Western Finland, the Finnish Food Authority has stated. This marks the first known infection of avian influenza, also known as 'bird flu', in fur animals in Finland.
Infections have been detected at five fur farms in Ostrobothnia, although efforts to determine the exact virus type are still ongoing. The farms are located in the towns of Halsua, Kaustinen, and Kauhava.
The infections did not result in any restrictions being imposed on the fur farms by the animal health authorities. The Finnish Food Authority suggested that the infections likely originated from wild birds.
The authority further advised workers on the farms to take protective and hygiene measures and to prevent wild birds from coming into contact with farm animals. The virus has limited transmissibility to humans, as infection typically requires close contact with a sick animal or its secretions, the authority noted.
Bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus type, has recently caused multiple mass deaths of wild birds. It has also been detected twice in wild foxes in Finland.
The Finnish Food Authority, along with regional state administrative agencies, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and the health authorities of the wellbeing services county, said they will continue to jointly monitor the situation.
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