Highly infectious bird flu has been found on three more poultry farms, two in Limburg and one in Overijssel, taking the number of birds killed in an effort to control the spread of the disease to over one million.

The biggest farm so far to be affected is in Tienray in Limburg, where 185,000 hens  were kept. All have been killed and a ban on the movement of birds, eggs and manure has been imposed in a 10 kilometre radius of the location.

Bird flu has been identified at 17 farms, a pheasant breeder and a petting zoo in recent weeks, as well as at several locations just over the Belgian and German borders.

On October 16, the farm ministry ordered that all farmed birds be kept indoors to stop potential exposure to the virus, which is also spread by wild birds. The previous indoor order ended in July.