Bird flu: EU urgent meeting after Netherlands outbreak

The European Commission is to discuss emergency protective measures after a highly contagious strain of bird flu was discovered at a poultry farm in the Netherlands, the BBC reported.

The commission will hold an urgent meeting on Monday to look at how to contain the outbreak.

The Dutch government said the strain, H5N8, could potentially affect humans.

The authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp.

"This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement.

"The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans."

The Dutch economics ministry says humans could only be infected through very close contact with infected birds.

The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs.