Around half of the roughly 100 birds at the at the Nuudi farm in the village of Sääre, in the east of Hiiumaa, affected by the outbreak have already died, and the remainder are to be culled, even those not exhibiting any symptoms of avian flu, the state Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) said.

"There is one infection point at Nuudi hobby farm, meaning we do not know of it having spread further, and the current situation is that a mass culling must be carried out. In the meantime, the court granted interim legal protection, but that process was halted. There was hope that birds in which no symptoms had been detected over the past week could be spared, but under the rules, unfortunately, the birds will still be culled," said Hergo Tasuja, mayor of Hiiumaa Municipality and chairman of the island's crisis committee.

"We learned of the suspicion on Friday, took samples, and the laboratory confirmed the presence of avian influenza on Monday. Of the approximately one hundred birds belonging to different species, nearly 40 have died. The rest are still alive, but the virus has certainly reached them as well. Rapid culling is important on the one hand from the perspective of animal welfare, and on the other hand it helps prevent the spread of the disease," said Olev Kalda, head of the PTA's animal health and welfare department.

After the culling, disinfection must be carried out at the farm, while the outbreak site will remain under heightened surveillance for several days afterwards.

"If no new cases are found in the meantime, the restrictions can be lifted. In the surrounding protection zone there are 20 poultry keepers who are registered with state Agricultural and PRIA, and the PTA has communicated with them directly and explained what these restrictions mean for their birds," Tasuja went on.

The outbreak is larger than the previous two seen late last year, meaning protection and surveillance measures will bar local poultry keepers from selling or otherwise taking eggs off of their farm – though they may consume them for domestic use, Kalda noted. The cull will be carried out at the first available opportunity.

Three poultry farms in Estonia have seen outbreaks of avian flu since the start of October last year. "The first was in Harju County; a very small household with six birds. In Järva County there were around forty birds, and now on Hiiumaa nearly 100 birds. In cases where the owner has been law-abiding and has done everything possible to keep the disease away, compensation is provided accordingly, depending on what kinds of birds are kept and what their value is," Kalda noted.

The Hiiumaa outbreak is part of a larger Europe-wide epidemic of avian flu, though so far the virus has not been transmitted to humans, so no ill effects have been seen. "The disease is present, Estonia is at risk, and what further demonstrates our vulnerability are forecasts by the European Food Safety Authority, which indicate that under the current conditions the large western Estonian islands — Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Muhu — are fairly high-risk areas when it comes to the possible spread of the virus from wild birds and waterfowl to domestic poultry," Kalda continued.

Avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by the influenza A virus, which primarily affects birds but can sometimes affect mammals including humans, who typically become infected after prolonged close contact with infected birds, though some cases have also been linked to consumption of improperly prepared animal byproducts, contact with contaminated surfaces, and, more rarely, even person-to-person spread. Symptoms of infection vary from mild to severe, including fever, diarrhea, and coughing.

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