Poultrymed | 82312

A major outbreak of avian influenza has struck the Prespa National Park in north-western Greece. Particularly hard hit have been the Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), whose colony at Lake Prespa is the largest in the world. The Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) reports that the mass mortality of birds started around mid of February, about a week after the first pelicans had arrived in Prespa from their wintering grounds in Turkey and North-Eastern Greece. In a bit more than a week, a total of 209 Dalmatian pelican corpses were recorded in the colony. Moreover, many still living birds displayed neurological symptoms.On the firs…