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04 (H5N8)- Saudi Arabia reports outbreak of HIGHLY pathogenic bird flu virus An outbreak of a particularly contagious bird flu virus has been reported in Saudi Arabia, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) warns, as the world struggles to contain the spread of a deadly China coronavirus. The outbreak took place in the central Sudair region, located some 150 kilometers north of the nation’s capital of Riyadh. The disease already killed more than 22,000 birds, the OIE said, citing the Saudi Agriculture Ministry. More than 385,000 birds were also slaughtered out of precaution. This is the first such outbreak since July 2018. The H5N8 strain of the bird flu, which was detected in Saudi Arabia, was previously considered not particularly contagious for humans. Yet, it has been recently declared to have become increasingly more pathogenic. 10 China (H5N6) and Scotland China (H5N6) - First case in China of bird flu on a poultry farm kills almost 2,000 birds Scotland Farmers placed on alert after bird flu case in Scotland

11 (H5N8) Bird flu in Germany "unlikely" to be transmitted via infected eggs and sausages Since 1 January 2020, several HPAI cases have been confirmed across the bloc, including in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. As recently as yesterday (10 February), Germany reported a new outbreak of HPAI virus H5N8 in the country\u2019s southwest state of Baden-Wurttemberg. According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), 44 birds died of HPAI in Baden-Wurttemberg last week, and 25 were killed and disposed of. These include 49 laying hens, two geese, six ducks, three pheasants, and nine canaries.\u201cAll poultry and captive birds have been culled and safely disposed of on 7/02/2020. No poultry, poultry products or captive birds have been dispatched,\u201d \u200bnoted the report.Earlier this year, Ukraine also confirmed an outbreak of HPAI in its Vinnytsia region. According to the OIE, a total of 98,000 birds in the area are susceptible to the disease, with 4,856 having already perished.The European Commission has since suspended poultry imports \u2013 but not eggs nor egg products \u2013 from Ukraine. 17 (H5N8) - Authorities Try To Contain Bird Flu Outbreak In Southern Bulgaria The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency has reported an outbreak of the H5N8 bird flu virus on a duck farm in the town of Rakovski in southern Bulgaria. The agency said on February 17 that nearly 6,000 ducks at the farm will be culled after the first cases of the highly pathogenic virus was discovered in Bulgaria in 10 months. A 3-kilometer protection zone had been set around the farm. Authorities also have banned the movement of birds within the protection zone as well as the sale of eggs and poultry from the area. In October 2018, authorities from the food safety agency culled more than 100,000 chickens and more than 16,000 ducks in southern Bulgarian villages to prevent the spread of the disease after an outbreak there was confirmed by laboratory tests.