A new outbreak of avian flu detected in a turkey farm in Morbihan

A new outbreak of avian flu was detected on Tuesday in a turkey farm in Morbihan, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Wednesday, August 21. Located in the commune of Camoël, “The affected farm, which has 4,650 turkeys, has been depopulated”that is to say euthanized, specifies a press release from the ministry. This is the second outbreak detected this season after the one reported on August 13, also in Brittany, in a poultry farm in Ille-et-Vilaine.

“A protection zone (3 km around the outbreak) and a surveillance zone (10 km) have been established by the prefect, in accordance with the regulations”the ministry said after the discovery of this second outbreak. These zones are located in Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique. “In order to control the risk of spreading the virus, the movement of poultry is prohibited in these areas, where health surveillance of farms is reinforced”it was certified.

No hypothesis has been formulated as to the origin of the virus. For the first outbreak, the main hypothesis put forward was that of contamination via wild fauna, the affected farm being located in an area where several cases had been observed in seabirds along the Breton coast. The ministry reminds “all the players in the sector”from transporters to breeders or veterinarians, “the need to maintain increased vigilance with regard to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), in particular by respecting strict application of biosecurity measures”.