A hotbed of avian influenza H5N1 was confirmed in domestic fowl in Hirișeni village of Telenești district. Specialists of the National Food Safety Agency ask those who keep fowl not to take them to meadows, rivers and lakes and to keep them closed and to maximally limit contact with wild birds and with domestic birds owned by other households, IPN reports.

The presence of the H5N1 avian influenza virus was confirmed by the Department of Virology of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Italy. The Călărași local food safety subdivision that covers Telenești district took measures to eradicate the hotbed.

The owners whose fowl were killed for swiftly liquidating the hotbed will benefit from compensation.

Over 58 cases of avian influenza in domestic fowl and wild birds were reported in the region, in Belgium, Denmark, the UK, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, France, Hungary, and Romania, so far this year.

The National Food Safety Agency calls on bird owners to urgently inform its local subdivisions, veterinarians or the local public authorities about cases of infection or death among domestic birds or if they find bodies of wild birds.