A dead flamingo found at a nature aid center in Oudsbergen, Limburg, is linked to the outbreak, with 17 birds across Limburg testing positive within a week of the initial case.

Birds in Germany appear to have been infected by poultry manure spread from a nearby chicken farm onto fields near a wader gathering site, suggesting an agricultural-to-wild-bird transmission pathway.

Center staff conduct routine testing of birds upon notification, and if a bird tests positive, the property owner is responsible for follow-up actions and removing carcasses.

The avian flu outbreak is affecting wildlife in Belgium, with about sixty wild birds testing positive, raising heightened vigilance due to spillover risk from neighboring countries.

In neighboring Germany, the outbreak has led to nearly one million birds culled and about a thousand wading birds killed, underscoring the outbreak’s scale.