A first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed this weekend of April 16 in a duck farm in Vezins-de-Levezou, near Séverac d’Aveyron, 40 kilometers from Rodez. The 14,000 ducks present were slaughtered. A second focus has since been identified by the Ministry.
Gers, Lot, Hautes-Pyrénées and Aveyron concerned in Occitania
To avoid any risk of spreading the virus to other farms, regulated protection and surveillance zones are set up within a radius of three and ten kilometers around the farm concerned. They concern the municipalities of Vezins-de-Levezou, Saint-Léons, Saint-Laurent-de-Lévezou, Ségur, Séverac d’Aveyron and Verrières. Within these perimeters, all places where poultry and captive birds are kept are subject to specific requirements: the movement of poultry and other captive birds is prohibited.
Restricted areas had already been put in place at the beginning of April, in the west of Aveyron this time, in connection with an outbreak located in the Lot. For now, more than 1,300 outbreaks have been confirmed in France since the outbreak of the virus last November. Vendée, Landes and Maine-et-Loire are by far the most affected departments. In Occitanie, there are 46 breeding centers in the Gers, 36 in the Lot, 16 in the Hautes-Pyrénées and therefore 2 centers in Aveyron.