Sweden raises alert level after Danish bird flu outbreak
Sweden has raised its alert level for poultry to the second highest after an outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring Denmark.
The Swedish board of Agriculture said that it was raising its threat level to two on a scale of three as a precaution, meaning all poultry should be kept indoors.
“We are raising the level of protection as a precaution. Bird flu is spread mainly by wild birds and therefore the risk of getting the disease to the Swedish poultry is now considered elevated,” Karin Åhl of the Agriculture board said in a statement.
The H5N8 bird flu has been found at a poultry farm in northern Denmark, the country’s environment and food ministry said on Monday.
“The bird flu detected can have major consequences for Danish exports of poultry,” the ministry said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Monitoring shows birds flying farther and faster than previously thought, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Migratory birds caught off guard by cold snap in Finland, Yle News
Sweden: Swedish Coast Guard seeks answers on injured birds, Radio Sweden
United States: Starving seabirds grounded in Southcentral Alaska, Alaska Dispatch News
