Finnish Food Authority reports no avian influenza cases among fur farms since June

Since June, the Finnish Food Authority’s monitoring of avian influenza has not reported any cases among fur farms. This surveillance study encompasses all fur farms across the country. So far, the authority has examined 896 samples from 189 different farms. Under the monitoring program, farms are required to submit samples every three weeks from three animals that have died naturally or have been euthanized due to poor health conditions. The surveillance will continue until the end of September, a period when the risk of infections from wild birds is at its highest.

Last year, avian influenza or its antibodies were detected in a total of 71 animals from fur farms. As a consequence, all animals on those farms—approximately 485,000 in total—were ordered to be culled.