France has confirmed outbreaks of bird flu on two poultry farms, two weeks after being officially declared free of the virus, which has been spreading in Europe this autumn and winter.
France's agriculture ministry said authorities confirmed new cases of avian influenza or HPAI, commonly known as bird flu, on two farms in the northwestern Normandy region.
"As a direct consequence of these outbreaks, France loses its HPAI-free status, that it had just regained on 15 December," it said in a statement published Monday.
The disease-free status, which means no reported outbreaks for at least a month, allows trade with importing countries.
In a separate notification to the World organisation for animal health, French authorities said the entire flocks on the two farms – one with 25,000 birds, the other with 540 – would be culled as a safety measure.
Highly contagious, the virus is spreading across Europe this winter as birds migrate.
Its impact has been less severe than in the United States, where flock losses have led to record egg prices, but the virus has been transmitted to cattle and humans.
France has been able to slow the spread of virus better than in previous years because of a vaccination programme, required for ducks raised for foie gras, which are particularly vulnerable.
The country nonetheless remains on high alert for the virus given continued risks of contamination from migrating wild birds, the ministry said.
(with AFP)
