Slovakia reports bird flu outbreak in poultry

Slovakia has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus among backyard poultry, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday.

The outbreak followed several outbreaks among poultry farms in Europe and Asia in recent weeks in a sign the virus is spreading quickly again.

The virus was detected in 14 backyard birds in Dunajska Streda, southeast of Bratislava, the OIE said, citing a report from the Slovakian authorities.