“It surprises us because influenza viruses are winter viruses. And there, it strikes in the middle of spring and in the middle of the nesting period”, explains Philippe Carruette, ornithologist at Marquenterre Park in the town of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont. This bird specialist is worried about this avian flu when new cases have been confirmed on the Picardy coast, pushing the prefecture of the Somme to extend the temporary control zone to fifteen municipalities in the department.
“The Temporary Control Zone (ZCT) will be maintained at least until July 15, 2022”also indicates the prefecture in its last press release published a few days ago. “Seabirds are species that have few antibodies since they are not brought to cross viruses in the marine environment. They are therefore more vulnerable knowing that they live in colonies, sometimes even on top of each other. which accelerates contamination”continues Philippe Carruette.
“The main contamination is through droppings” — Philippe Carruette, Samarian ornithologist
An epizootic (note: animal epidemic) difficult to contain and control since it affects wild animals. “We cannot vaccinate them as we could do in zoos or farms”explains Philippe Carruette. “On the other hand, we can and we must control what is happening, pick up the corpses to avoid contamination”he continues. “We see that it is decreasing a little but I hope it will not spread to species living in the land. Man is not obliged to intervene all the time but he must understand how viruses evolve”he finishes.
The municipalities concerned by the “temporary control zone”, including the maritime public domain under the right of these municipalities
- Ault
- Brutes
- Cayeux-sur-Mer
- Favieres
- Fort-Mahon-Plage
- Lancheres
- hanging
- Le Crotoy
- Seas-les-Bains
- When
- Street
- Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont
- Saint-Quentin-La-Motte-Croix-au-Bailly
- Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme
- Woignarue
Specific measures applicable in the “temporary control zone”
- All poultry, including backyard poultry, and any other captive birds must be kept permanently inside buildings or under a net
- No live poultry and captive birds should be taken out of farms, commercial or non-commercial. Of the derogations will be possibleafter approval from the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP) of the Somme, mainly in the context of a direct transfer to a slaughterhouse
- The movement of people, pets, vehicles within farms (commercial or not) must be limited to what is strictly necessary.
- The direct sale at the farm of slaughtered poultry and its products is prohibited. Breeders can, however, continue their commercial activity by selling directly to consumers in local open-air markets.
- During the maintenance period of this ZCT, increased monitoring of the avifauna will be carried out
- Finally it is asked avoid contact with wild birds
This measure may be lifted “if no suggestive sign of avian influenza is detected in the farms and if no new case occurs in wildlife”still indicates the prefecture of the Somme.