Poultry sector on high alert for avian influenza

There have been no outbreaks of the virus in poultry in Ireland over the past three years to date, but the disease is currently circulating in wild birds.

The €700m poultry industry, which supports over 5,000 jobs and involves some 800 farms in commercial production, is again on high alert for bird flu.

Dead wild seabirds have been washed up on shorelines in Kerry, Clare and Galway during the past month, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Some have tested positive for the contagious virus.