Provisional figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, consulted by Agence France-Presse, Friday, December 31, report “eabout 600,000 to 650,000 “ poultry slaughtered in France since the first case of avian influenza detected in a farm at the end of November.
The ministry identifies twenty-six outbreaks of the virus in farms, fifteen cases in wildlife and three cases in backyards. The majority of cases are now concentrated in the north of France and reach the South-West.
“Since December 16, when a first H5N1 type outbreak was confirmed in the South-West, in a farm of ducks ready to force-feed in the town of Manciet, in the Gers, twenty-two new outbreaks have been identified in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Gers and the Landes ”, reported the ministry in a press release Thursday evening. “The affected farms were each time depopulated, then disinfected”, he added.
Often preventive slaughter
France, like many European countries, is once again affected this winter by highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as avian flu, carried by migrating birds. Last year, the epizootic caused nearly five hundred breeding outbreaks and resulted in the often preventive slaughter of around 3.5 million poultry, mainly ducks.
This year, the virus was identified for the first time on November 26 in the Nord department, in the town of Warhem, where 160,000 laying hens were reared in buildings. Additional restrictions are expected to limit contagion “In a dense breeding area in the South-West” the scope of which must be specified by prefectural decrees.
Within this perimeter, breeders are prohibited from welcoming new chicks or ducklings to their farms. “Until January 7”. “These measures may be extended, in view of the evolution of the health situation”, warns the ministry.