Hundreds of storks found dead near Madrid amid wider bird flu surge

MADRID, ‌Dec 12 (Reuters) - Spanish authorities have detected four outbreaks of ‍bird flu ‌in wild birds in the central Madrid region, where ⁠forestry agents collected hundreds of ‌dead storks over the past several weeks including more than a hundred in the past 24 hours.

The outbreaks are part of ⁠an unprecedented surge in bird flu cases across Europe this season, with thousands ​of wild bird cases reported in 29 ‌countries, according to the European ⁠Food Safety Authority.

Madrid's regional government said in a statement that no commercial poultry farms have been affected so ​far and there was no serious risk to humans.

"The authorities are removing carcasses using strict biosecurity measures to prevent further spread of the virus," it said. The storks, ​migratory birds ‍arriving from northern ​Europe, are thought to be carrying the virus.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds globally in recent years, disrupting food supplies and increasing prices. Human cases remain rare. 

"Based on how the ⁠outbreak is behaving in Spain and across Europe, there is no serious risk to ​human health, as no cases of transmission to people have been recorded," Miguel Higueras Ortega, head of forestry operations in Madrid, told Reuters.

He added the outbreaks ‌did not appear to pose an environmental threat for now.

(Reporting by Jesus Calero, editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex Richardson)