A first outbreak of avian flu was detected in a poultry farm in the South-West, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday, bringing the total number of outbreaks detected in breeding in France to eight this year.
Of these eight foci ofhighly pathogenic avian influenza (commonly called Avian Flu) in breeding, seven are located in the Nord department and the 8th in the Gers, details a press release from the ministry. There are also three cases in backyard and 11 in wildlife.
Communicated ?? | #Influenza avian: an eighth outbreak detected in a poultry farm in Gers https://t.co/ywMNHUHxax
– Ministry of Agriculture and Food (@Agri_Gouv) December 17, 2021
The last outbreak was detected in a duck farm ready to force-feed located in the town of Manciet, in the Gers. “In accordance with health management rules, the Gers home has been depopulated and preventively disinfected today,” the statement explains. The prefecture has also established a protection zone of 3 kilometers and a surveillance zone of 10 kilometers around this outbreak.
France has around 20,000 poultry farms raised for meat, eggs or foie gras. The virus was identified in a first French farm on November 26, on a farm in the town of Warhem (North) where 160,000 laying hens were reared all year round in buildings. In each case in breeding, the animals are slaughtered.
To reduce the risk of contamination, the health authorities asked at the beginning of November all outdoor and organic producers to confine their poultry in order to avoid contact with migratory birds potentially carrying the virus. The first cases were however detected in conventional farms.
Avian influenza viruses continue to circulate actively in Europe through migratory birds. 29 countries are now affected throughout the European continent, which lists nearly 400 outbreaks in breeding and 700 cases in wildlife, according to the French Ministry of Agriculture.
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