Since the end of November, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N8 has been found in 41 poultry farms and 4 outbreaks in wildlife.
Bird flu is hitting France again with lightning speed. The Ministry of Agriculture announced on its website that 41 outbreaks were detected in farms in the South-West, against 32 on Tuesday, December 20.
As last year, the departments of Landes (3 homes), Tarn (7 homes), Gers (21 homes), Lot-et-Garonne (5 homes), Hautes-Pyrénées (1 focus), Pyrénées-Atlantiques (2 outbreaks) and Aveyron (2 outbreaks) are the main concerned. In total, more than 187,000 ducks, chickens and other poultry had to be slaughtered.
In wildlife – which is believed to be the source of this new avian flu epizootic – 4 outbreaks have also been detected in Pas-de-Calais, Haute-Savoie and Tarn since the end of November.
Nearly 20 million poultry slaughtered in Asia
According to the European animal health epidemiological surveillance platform, 14 European countries, including France, have outbreaks of H5N8 avian influenza in farms or in wild outbreaks. As of December 18, the number of outbreaks and cases reported is 558: 7 have been reported in birds in captivity, 259 in farmed birds and 292 in wildlife. Hungary and Germany are the countries most affected.
The H5N8 virus is also giving Japanese and Korean health authorities a hard time. Since the beginning of winter, 5 major slaughter campaigns have taken place on the Japanese archipelago killing more than a million poultry. In South Korea, more than 18 million birds have been eliminated in mass culling in an attempt to contain the epizootic. The Korean authorities say they are very worried because the number of animals to be slaughtered is exploding while the workforce is starting to run out.
However, all countries want to be reassuring and remind us that the H5N8 strain is not transmissible to humans. Exports of birds and eggs are prohibited in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
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