190,000 ducks destroyed at six Dutch farms after bird flu outbreak

Officials check for avian flu at farms surrounding original site as outbreaks of disease reported in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden

Some 190,000 ducks were destroyed on Saturday at six farms in the Netherlands following an avian flu outbreak, the country's first cull in response to an epidemic sweeping northern Europe.

Outbreaks of avian flu, primarily the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain, have been reported in Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden over the past week.