MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands, no confirmed cases of avian influenza in wild or domestic birds

Senior Veterinary Office, Zoe Fowler, “The fact that we have managed to avoid any real suspect, or confirmed case of avian influenza is a significant achievement.” Photo: WHO / Archive

The Veterinary Department can confirm that, following a major implementation of enhanced bio-security across the Islands, there have, to date, been no confirmed cases of avian influenza (bird flu) in the Falkland Islands wild or domestic birds.

Since September 2022, the Veterinary Department and the Environment Department have worked with various FIG departments and the private sector to ensure that the possibility of avian influenza reaching bird colonies, via human vectors, was reduced.

A key piece of bio-security equipment is footbaths which have been rolled out to the majority of locations across the Islands.

Senior Veterinary Office, Zoe Fowler said: “The fact that we have managed to avoid any real suspect, or confirmed case of avian influenza is a significant achievement. I must thank everyone who has been involved in working hard to protect our domestic and wild birds. We continue to receive reports of outbreaks of avian influenza in South America but we have been lucky so far that it has not yet reached our shores. I encourage the public to continue to remain vigilant, report and do not touch sick or dead or vagrant birds, and continue to practice good biosecurity wherever you go in the Islands.”

If you see any unusual wild bird or domestic/commercial poultry behaviour please report this to the Veterinary Services on tross@naturalresources@gov.fk 27366 or out of hours 55366.