January 12 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) has confirmed a new hotspot of avian influenza type A in birds in the Haskovo Region. The virus was found in a breeding facility for Pekin ducks in the village of Zhalti Bryag, Stambolovo Municipality. The site is within the 10-kilometre zone under monitoring in view of the bird flu outbreak detected in the village of Krivo Pole, Haskovo Municipality, in late December 2021, the BFSA said.

An order has been issued to take measures to control the outbreak. The plan is to humanely kill the sick and contact birds in the facility and dispose of the corpses under official supervision, and in a way that prevents the spread of the disease, the agency specified. There are around 5,800 ducks in various age categories on site.

A 3-kilometre protection zone has been set up around the affected facility as well as a 10-kilometre monitoring zone.

RY/DS