Biosecurity authorities are racing against the clock to try and contain an outbreak of bird flu, north of Sydney. Almost a quarter of a million chickens are now being killed after the virus was detected at an egg farm in the Hawksbury region. A further three farms have been placed in lock down to try and contain the virus.
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00:00Monique and Matt Bowness own a small egg farm in the Hawkesbury.
00:06They're worried the nearby outbreak could spread to them and they're taking extra precautions
00:10to protect their flock.
00:12At the moment no one comes into the property at all.
00:17If we need feed we're going to get it dropped off and we spray their tyres with a special
00:22disinfectant.
00:24The H7N8 strain of avian influenza was detected at this commercial egg farm on Wednesday,
00:29killing 8,000 birds in just 48 hours.
00:33Authorities are now euthanasing 240,000 birds, a process which will take several days.
00:39We have also started our tracing work to check any products or machinery that have come out
00:45of the affected farm over the last couple of weeks to make sure that there hasn't been
00:49any other spread.
00:50The affected farm near Freeman's Reach is under an emergency order and a further three
00:55farms in a surrounding control zone are in lockdown.
00:59We haven't seen any signs of illness in those animals to date, which is a good sign, but
01:05nonetheless we are monitoring and testing the birds on those farms.
01:09Avian influenza is a highly contagious and deadly virus, which is why the state government
01:14has moved so swiftly to quarantine this area to try and contain the outbreak.
01:20Consumers are being reassured eggs and poultry are safe to eat and the government says supplies
01:25aren't being impacted.
01:27At this stage supply is okay, there's no need for people to panic and rush to the supermarket
01:32to buy eggs.
01:33Biosecurity experts say the outbreak isn't connected to the outbreak in Victoria and
01:38most likely spread from wild birds.
01:41We are really confident that we can eradicate both of the outbreaks, both in Victoria and
01:45New South Wales.
01:47We've done it before in Australia effectively.
01:50Authorities are now waiting and watching to see if the containment measures work.
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