Hungary orders all poultry to be kept inside to contain bird flu

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s chief veterinarian has issued an order that all poultry must be kept inside after the bird flu virus spread to 11 counties and more than 3 million birds had to be culled.

The food safety authority NEBIH said in a statement on Thursday the aim was to limit the possibility of contact between wildfowl and poultry stock.

Since the outbreak of bird flu in Hungary last year, the virus has been detected in 83 wildfowl.

The government has said it would seek European Union support to tackle the economic fallout from bird flu outbreaks.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)