The risk level associated with bird flu in France rose from moderate to high on Tuesday, following the detection of “several outbreaks”, according to information published in the Official Journal.
The measure, which includes the confinement of poultry, was taken “taking into account the confirmation of several outbreaks on farms” and “the dynamics of the infection in migration routes and the possibility of spreading the virus through these migratory birds,” according to the decree, which takes effect immediately.
The epizootic risk (affecting many animals of the same species in the same area at the same time) to which poultry and other captive birds are exposed due to infection of wild birds with a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus is classified into three categories: “negligible”, “moderate ” and “high”.
This risk was reduced to ‘negligible’ in July and increased to ‘moderate’ at the end of November, following the detection of an outbreak of bird flu on a turkey farm in the Morbihan department (west), the first case in France in autumn 2023.
Previously, the country remained at ‘heightened’ risk between November 2022 and April 2023.
Bird flu, which is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, has led to the euthanasia of tens of millions of poultry in France in recent years.
According to the latest weekly bulletin of November 28 from the French Animal Health Epidemiological Surveillance Platform, 77 outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have been identified in Europe since August 1, mainly in Hungary and the United Kingdom, compared to 48 the week before. .
A total of 27 countries have diagnosed bird flu, according to the same source.
Source: DN
