Northern Norway suffers serious bird flu outbreak 

Recent weeks have seen large numbers of dead wild birds being discovered along the coast of Finnmark in northern Norway. 

“The outbreaks we are seeing in various places in Finnmark this year are bigger than we have seen before. Mass deaths associated with bird cliffs have also been seen elsewhere in Europe in recent years. This is serious, not least for our most vulnerable species, such as the black-legged kittiwake,” Ingunn Midttun Godal, head of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, said in a statement. 

She also told public broadcaster NRK that the outbreak was the largest ever seen in Norway. More than 3,000 dead birds have been found in Vadsø, a town in northern Norway. 

“It is reasonable to assume that there are several thousand dead birds and that this is the largest outbreak of bird flu Norway has seen,” Godal said. 

In addition to the effect of bird flu on wild populations, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is worried about the consequences of a potential outbreak in commercial poultry farms. Although, there are very few poultry farms in the north of the country. 

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has assessed the risk of infection to humans as very low. Still, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority advises that people do not touch sick or dead birds. 

There also isn’t a serious risk of infection spreading to other animals. 

“The bird flu that has now been detected primarily poses a risk to birds. It is unusual for mammals to be infected with bird flu, but there are cases (of it spreading) from several countries, especially in wild mammals such as foxes, seals and minke whales,” Godal said. 

The public has been asked to report large accumulations of dead and sick birds. The food safety authority has said it is working with local authorities, the State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark, the Veterinary Institute, the Environment Agency, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate (Sno), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (Nina).