France on ‘excessive’ alert for chook flu after new circumstances detected

PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) – France raised the chance degree of chook flu to ‘excessive’ from ‘reasonable’ on Tuesday after new circumstances of the illness have been detected, forcing poultry farms to maintain birds indoors to stem the unfold of the extremely contagious virus.

The choice by the agriculture ministry was printed within the Official Journal on Tuesday.

Avian influenza, generally generally known as chook flu, has led to the culling of lots of of hundreds of thousands birds worldwide in recent times.

It normally strikes throughout autumn and winter and has been spreading in lots of European international locations over the previous weeks, together with Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

France mentioned final week it had detected a first chook flu outbreak on a farm this season in Brittany, within the northwest.

One other outbreak was detected amongst turkeys within the Somme division in northern France final week, mentioned Yann Nedelec, director of French poultry business group Anvol.

“We’re coming into the riskiest interval going from November to February/March with temperatures happening and energetic migration flows,” Nedelec mentioned.

The “excessive” threat degree implies that every one poultry needs to be stored inside on farms and extra safety measures taken to keep away from a selection of the illness.

Though the chook flu is innocent in meals, its unfold is a priority for governments and the poultry business as a result of devastation it could trigger to flocks, the potential of commerce restrictions and a threat of human transmission.

To counter the illness, France launched a vaccination marketing campaign in early October, initially restricted to geese, which may simply transmit the virus with out displaying signs.

The outbreak of chook flu this season has put the business on watch to see if France’s technique of vaccinating birds will show efficient.

France goals to vaccinate over 60 million geese however solely 70% have obtained a primary shot and 40% have been totally vaccinated by the top of final month, Marie-Pierre Pe, director of France’s duck and foie gras business group CIFOG, has advised Reuters.

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