PARIS: France has raised its bird flu alert level after a severe form of the virus was detected among backyard poultry in the northeast, on top of cases in neighboring Belgium and LuxembourgAgriculture Ministry said on Friday.
Highly contagious H5N8 strain avian influenza This week among ducks, chickens, turkeys and pigeons were found in a house Ardennes The ministry said in a statement that all animals have been slaughtered as a precautionary measure.
“The health situation with respect to highly pathogenic avian influenza is worrying. Since 1 August, 25 cases have been detected among wild and captive birds in Europe,” it said.
The French ministry said two cases of H5N8 were reported in Belgium last week, one at a bird trader and in a private home and another at a house in Luxembourg linked to the trader.
The latest cases linked to the H5N8 strain of bird flu prompted France to raise its risk assessment from “negligible” to “moderate”, which would limit poultry indoors in some areas, it said.
The ministry said the outbreak in France would not compromise the bird flu-free status that the country regained after the previous wave of H5N8 bird flu.
Bird flu outbreaks can particularly prompt importing countries to: AsiaTo impose trade restrictions on poultry products.
France killed nearly 3 million birds in its southwestern duck-breeding region last winter as it battled the spread of the virus from wild birds to poultry.
The massive outbreak prompted the government to agree new biosecurity measures with the poultry sector.
These include the need to confine flocks during risk periods and a commitment to reduce the density of flocks in the Southwest, which are the country’s duck-based homes. foie gras pate industry.
Highly contagious H5N8 strain avian influenza This week among ducks, chickens, turkeys and pigeons were found in a house Ardennes The ministry said in a statement that all animals have been slaughtered as a precautionary measure.
“The health situation with respect to highly pathogenic avian influenza is worrying. Since 1 August, 25 cases have been detected among wild and captive birds in Europe,” it said.
The French ministry said two cases of H5N8 were reported in Belgium last week, one at a bird trader and in a private home and another at a house in Luxembourg linked to the trader.
The latest cases linked to the H5N8 strain of bird flu prompted France to raise its risk assessment from “negligible” to “moderate”, which would limit poultry indoors in some areas, it said.
The ministry said the outbreak in France would not compromise the bird flu-free status that the country regained after the previous wave of H5N8 bird flu.
Bird flu outbreaks can particularly prompt importing countries to: AsiaTo impose trade restrictions on poultry products.
France killed nearly 3 million birds in its southwestern duck-breeding region last winter as it battled the spread of the virus from wild birds to poultry.
The massive outbreak prompted the government to agree new biosecurity measures with the poultry sector.
These include the need to confine flocks during risk periods and a commitment to reduce the density of flocks in the Southwest, which are the country’s duck-based homes. foie gras pate industry.
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