The avian flu epidemic has not yet affected France but the government considers the risk to be high. The Minister of Agriculture therefore decided on Friday, November 5 to raise the alert level, resulting in the confinement of poultry throughout the territory.
What are the current risks?
The progression of the avian flu virus has been under surveillance in Europe for several months. In our neighbors, the indicators turn red first in populations of wild birds: 130 cases have been detected since August, especially in the North Sea and around the Baltic. These are important European residence areas for migratory birds.
The virus has passed from wildlife to farms in Germany, where three outbreaks have been detected. The Netherlands also spotted an outbreak in a laying hen farm and declared the confinement of poultry throughout the country. With the period of bird migrations, the virus follows their routes south. Thus in Italy, six outbreaks have emerged in the region of Verona, in the north of the country.
What is the situation in France?
France is not spared by these warning signs. Three backyards were contaminated in the Ardennes and the Aisne, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The alert level had already been raised a notch on September 10, with measures targeted on municipalities classified at risk. This time it is therefore the entire territory that is concerned by the obligation to contain farms.
But for all that it is not an epidemic. This decision is a precautionary measure to avoid it, precisely. For the moment, France retains its status as a country free from avian influenza. She had found it in early September, after the outbreak of late 2020-early 2021, which had already caused the confinement of farms in 46 departments and the slaughter of three and a half million poultry.
What measures will breeders have to take?
The 14,000 French farms will have to either lock up or place their chickens, ducks, geese … under nets to avoid contact with wild birds. Gatherings and fairs are prohibited and for hunters, the introduction into the wild of game birds is subject to more stringent conditions.
In zoos too, vaccination is compulsory where birds can neither be locked up nor placed under a net. These measures are accompanied by close veterinary surveillance with the taking of samples.