With increasing outbreaks of H5N8 avian influenza in Europe, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic has closed bird markets and imposed a ban on outside access for flocks.  In addition, restrictions will be placed on transport of live poultry and trading in live birds. 

This action follows numerous diagnoses of H5N8 in wild birds in diverse of areas in the Czech Republic.  Experience gained in 2020 and more recently has shown that the presence of H5N8 in migratory and resident free-living waterfowl precedes outbreaks in domestic poultry especially in non-confined flocks and on farms with suboptimal biosecurity.