Finland orders culling of 109,000 foxes and 6,000 Japanese raccoons on farms infected with bird flu

The Finnish Food Agency on Wednesday ordered the slaughter of all foxes and raccoon dogs (also known as Japanese raccoon dogs) on fur farms in the country where cases of bird flu have been confirmed, to prevent the virus from mutating and infecting humans.

The measure, which Will affect 109,000 foxes and 6,000 raccoon dogsFinnish authorities this summer also mandated the culling of another 135,000 animals with valuable fur, mainly foxes and minks.

So far they have been detected Bird flu cases reported in 26 of Finland’s nearly 400 fur farmsmost of which are located in the Ostrobothnia region (western part of the country).

The U.S. Food Agency said in a statement that it found signs that infections had occurred among mammals on the farm, not just between infected birds and mammals, and that it was concerning that the virus was mutating. signs.

“We are not sure how widespread the disease is and there are indications that it can be spread from one animal to another. In addition, worrying mutations have been found on some farms that increase the risk of the virus to The adaptability of mammals,” Tuija Gadd, a researcher at the agency, told YLE public television.

According to the entity, The longer the virus circulates among mammals, the greater the risk that variants will emerge that can also infect humans.

“Human seasonal flu season is approaching, and if the viruses combine, they can mutate viciously,” Gadde said.

So far, worrying variants that facilitate the spread of the virus to mammals have been found in the genomes of six viruses isolated from animals on these fur farms, including foxes, mink and raccoon dogs.

The Finnish agency said it was working closely with EU reference laboratories to analyze the virus strains found on these farms.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in July last year that mammals such as minks provide an ideal environment for avian influenza viruses to mutate, so there is a possibility that strains of the virus that can infect humans will eventually emerge.

The risk associated with minks is that they have certain receptors in their respiratory tracts to which both avian and human influenza viruses can stick.

(Information from EFE)