France declares “maximum” alert for bird flu
France raises the risk level of bird flu from “moderate” to “high” after detecting new outbreaks, forcing birds to be kept indoors. Despite a vaccination campaign, concern persists.
In an urgent measure to contain the spread of bird flu, France has raised the risk level from “moderate” to “high” , as announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Agriculture. This decision comes after the detection of new cases of the highly contagious disease in various regions of the country, which has led to the implementation of stricter measures in poultry farms.
Bird flu, commonly known as bird flu, has generated global concern in recent years, leading to the slaughter of hundreds of millions of birds. This virus usually manifests itself during the autumn and winter months, having recently affected several European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Also Read: New details about the rare disease that is affecting dogs in the US
The first outbreak of this season in France was confirmed last week on a farm in Brittany, in the northwest of the country. Another outbreak was subsequently identified among turkeys in the Somme department in northern France, said Yann Nedelec, director of the French poultry industry group Anvol.
“We are entering the most risky period, which runs from November to February/March, with temperatures dropping and active migratory flows,” Nedelec warned about the current situation.
Additional safety measures to prevent the spread of bird flu
The change to the “high” risk level implies stricter measures, such as the obligation to keep all poultry inside the farms and the implementation of additional safety measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Although bird flu poses no food-borne health risks, its ability to devastate entire flocks and the potential for trade restrictions make it a serious concern for governments and the poultry industry.
To tackle the disease, France launched a vaccination campaign in early October, initially focusing on ducks, which are known to transmit the virus without showing symptoms.
However, the effectiveness of this strategy is in question, as only 70% of the more than 60 million targeted ducks have received a first dose and only 40% were fully vaccinated at the end of last month, according to Marie-Pierre Pe, director of the French duck and foie gras industry group CIFOG, speaking to Reuters.
The outbreak of bird flu has kept the poultry industry in suspense, which is closely monitoring the development of the situation and evaluating the effectiveness of the measures implemented. With winter underway and temperatures dropping, the international community is also closely monitoring the evolution of the disease, aware of the potential risks to both birds and public health.
