Overview
- Brandenburg ordered the killing of about 200,000 more birds after new Newcastle disease detections on a major broiler farm and a small holding, with further spread confirmed in an already affected site.
- Officials report roughly three million birds have been or will be culled across affected operations, with protection and monitoring zones imposing stall orders and transport bans on birds, meat, and eggs.
- Germany has 45 registered outbreaks in kept birds, with 31 in Berlin‑Brandenburg and 14 in Bavaria, according to the Friedrich‑Loeffler‑Institut.
- Veterinarians describe mortality of 90 to 100 percent in infected flocks, while the virus poses low risk to people and can rarely cause conjunctivitis after close contact with sick birds.
- Veterinary offices and industry urge checks of mandatory vaccinations and stricter farm hygiene as suppliers work through spot egg shortages, with a concurrent bird‑flu wave in wild birds adding pressure on surveillance.