The EU Commission has agreed to provide €27.2 million to Italy to compensate farmers who were impacted by outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu) two years ago.
The funds will be drawn from the EU’s agricultural reserve and the farmers will have to receive their payments by September 30.
Between October 23, 2021 and December 31, 2021, there were 294 outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu confirmed in Italy.
The disease impacted flocks of chickens, laying hens, turkeys, ducks and Guinea fowl.
Commission
Once bird flu outbreaks were confirmed in an area Italian authorities implemented control, monitoring and preventative measures, including the establishment of protection and surveillance zones.
These measures resulted in the slaughter of poultry, along with a loss in production of eggs, live animals and poultry meat in the farms located in the restricted zones.
Following a formal request from Rome, the EU Commission has agreed to cover half of the expenditure borne by Italy in supporting the market of eggs and poultry meat with EU funds.
Only farms which were located in the regulated zones until the end of 2021 will be entitled to receive this support.
The EU measure is expected to come into force later this month once it has been formally approved by the commission.
Bird flu
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Chile has reported that it has detected its first case of avian influenza, also known as bird flu, in a human.
The case relates to a 53-year-old man in the northern part of the country, who is very sick with influenza and has been identified as having the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
According to the ministry, health protocols established for the management of the disease were activated and the corresponding tests were taken for analysis by the Institute of Public Health (ISP), which confirmed that it is bird flu.
The source of contact is now being investigated by epidemiology teams which were deployed on the ground to investigate the source of the contagion, and whether or not there are other potential cases or past cases in the patient’s local area and environment.