THE HAGUE, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Bird flu has been detected on a poultry farm near Kleve in Germany, a border town adjacent to the Netherlands, the Dutch government confirmed late Wednesday. On the same day, three additional Dutch poultry farms and a petting zoo near the German border also reported bird flu cases.
Earlier on Wednesday, the virus was confirmed in the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Limburg. In Limburg, outbreaks occurred at poultry farms, involving a total of 270,000 birds. In Overijssel, a poultry farm in Bornerbroek with 18,000 chickens was affected. All birds at these sites have to be culled.
In Nijmegen, Gelderland province by the German border, bird flu was detected at a petting zoo, where the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is culling 52 chickens to prevent further spread.
To contain the highly pathogenic virus, a 10-km transport ban has been imposed around the affected farms, covering poultry, eggs, manure, and bedding materials.
Germany has established a restricted area that partly extends into the Netherlands. In response, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature set up a restricted zone around Millingen aan de Rijn and east of Groesbeek. A surveillance zone had already been declared in this region on Nov. 21 due to a previous avian influenza outbreak in Kleve.
The NVWA is conducting a tracing investigation to identify high-risk contacts linked to the farms. If necessary, additional measures will be implemented, such as extra sampling or restrictions on high-risk businesses.
After an absence of around six months, bird flu reappeared in the Netherlands in October and has since spread to multiple farms. The latest outbreaks have required poultry farmers nationwide to keep their birds indoors since Oct. 16, 2025.
The virus is spreading rapidly across the Netherlands, raising concerns about rising egg and poultry prices. ■
