OVIEDO, Spain

Spain is confining farm birds indoors in large swathes of the country from Monday to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Birds including chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese must be moved into coops from the outdoors in nearly 1,200 municipalities classified as high-risk areas.

Spain’s Agriculture Ministry said some exceptions may be granted if farmers install proper netting to prevent contact between domestic and wild birds. In all cases, poultry must be fed and watered indoors.

Under the tightened rules, farmers must also ensure that the birds’ water supply does not come from sources accessible to wild birds.

The ministry introduced the measures following a rise in cases across Europe and the arrival of colder weather.

Mar Fernandez, director of the Spanish Egg Producers Association, told Spanish news agency EFE that the egg sector has already been “heavily affected,” with nearly 2.5 million hens recently culled.

She said no new outbreaks have been detected in the past few weeks, though affected farms will need time to repopulate their flocks.

According to Spain’s consumer group OCU, the average price of a dozen eggs has risen by €1 ($1.16) over the past six months and 137% since 2021.

Spain’s poultry meat industry has been less affected because most of the operations are indoors, Jordi Montfort, secretary-general of the Spanish Poultry Meat Association, told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.

The current H5N1 bird flu strain can have a mortality rate of up to 100% within 48 hours in some poultry species, such as chickens and turkeys.

The virus has also been detected in more than 200 mammal species, including cows, cats, seals, and humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.​

Although no human-to-human transmission has been confirmed with the strains currently circulating, 28 people who had direct contact with infected birds were infected this year, resulting in 11 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.