France has 47 outbreaks of avian flu in farms and five cases in wildlife, according to a latest count.
France now has 47 outbreaks of avian flu in poultry farms in the southwest, against 32 last Tuesday. The number of cases identified in wildlife having increased from four to five, according to a new count from the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday.
The 47 outbreaks in farms are spread over seven departments in the southwest: Landes (3 outbreaks, no change), Tarn (7 outbreaks, no change), Gers (26 outbreaks, +13), Lot-et-Garonne (5 outbreaks, no change), Pyrénées-Atlantiques (2, no change), Hautes-Pyrénées (2, +1), and Aveyron (2, +1) .
Carried by migratory birds
In wildlife, a new case has been discovered since Tuesday, in the Channel, bringing to five the number of cases reported to date, in a total of four departments, including Haute-Savoie (2 cases), the Pas-de-Calais (1) and the Tarn (1).
According to the ESA platform for epidemiology in animal health in Europe, 13 European countries, including France, are affected by the H5N8 virus carried by migratory birds.
The total number of outbreaks and cases notified, according to this platform, is 406, including 245 in wild birds, 155 in breeding, and 6 in captive birds. The country most affected for breeding being Hungary with 120 outbreaks.
Asia hard hit
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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