Emergency control zones set up as second Sydney farm reports bird flu

Emergency control zones set up as second Sydney farm reports bird flu Sydney, July 18 (IANS) Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, has spread to a second farm in Sydney's northwest, with emergency control zones established to curb the transmission of the highly contagious disease. In a statement released on Thursday, a local council said that emergency control zones have been placed around the Hawkesbury region, as bird flue is primarily spread via the movement of infected domestic and wild birds, Xinhua news agency reported. "Two zones have been established in the immediate vicinity of the detections. A Restricted Emergency Zone (REZ) has been set up in the immediate two-kilometer perimeter surrounding the affected properties and a Control Emergency Zone has been established in the surrounding area beyond the REZ," said the Hawkesbury City Council. The announcement came weeks after the state government of New South Wales (NSW) identified a second case of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza on a poultry farm in the Hawkesbury biosecurity control zone. Having tested positive for the H7N8 strain, the site is within the restricted biosecurity zone 1.5 km from the original infected farm site detected on June 19. Australia has been grappling with multiple bird flu outbreaks since May, with Victoria, the nation's second most populated state, first sounding the alarm. H7N3 and H7N9 strains have been detected across eight Victorian poultry farms. In late June, confirmed cases emerged in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). According to the Hawkesbury City Council, the strain found in NSW and the ACT is not the H5N1 strain causing global concern, nor is it linked to those outbreaks in Victoria.