Health officials in the Netherlands have slaughtered more than 100,000 chickens, hoping to contain a contagious bird disease.
The Agriculture Ministry says test results at two farms have confirmed the illness is avian influenza.
A ban on exports of live poultry, eggs and other related products has been in place since Saturday.
The outbreak of bird sickness is the fourth major crisis in the Dutch agriculture sector in five years.
With a chicken population of 100 million, the latest disaster is costing the poultry industry an estimated €10 million a week.
During the 2002 foot-and-mouth crisis, the Netherlands was the worst hit country outside Britain, and in 1997, millions of pigs were slaughtered during a swine fever epidemic.
Avian influenza begins as a respiratory infection and can develop into pneumonia that is often fatal. Sick animals are drowsy, have a weak appetite and lay fewer eggs. While in some cases the heads and necks of infected birds swell, others die before showing any symptoms.
It generally infects only birds, but there have been a few isolated cases when humans contracted it.
AP