A weakly pathogenic strain of avian influenza was spotted in a farm in Tarn-et-Garonne. The risk of spread is low, according to health authorities.
The infernal circle is definitely struggling to break in the Southwest. Barely three weeks after the end of the crawl space, bird flu was again detected in a farm in Tarn-et-Garonne. This time, the H5N3 strain is in circulation. The health authorities do not consider it necessary to worry.
The strain detected is weakly pathogenic, according to the Departmental Directorate of Social Cohesion and Population Protection (DDCSPP) of the department. The situation is “nothing to worry about,” she says. The slaughter of ducks is more of a classic preventive measure. By eliminating contaminated farms, the risk of spreading the virus is greatly reduced.
The authorities did not wish to disclose the precise location of the farm. According to information from France 3 Occitanie, 9,000 ducklings and 6,000 ducks are affected by the measure.
Aid in progress
This sentence marks a blow for the palmiped breeders of the South-West, who are just emerging from a long series of epidemics. On May 29, the end of the crawl space was pronounced in the region, after 6 weeks of cleaning. More than 4 million birds have been culled as a preventive measure. For the sector, this represented a cost of 350 million euros.
This crisis was added to the repercussions of an epidemic of comparable magnitude in 2016, which also forced professionals to empty their farms. The State has planned an aid plan for these breeders.
351 farms have already received part of the compensation, representing a total of more than 11 million euros. “For farms affected by preventive slaughter, all of the compensation has already been paid, or is in the process of being paid, for nearly 90% of the farms concerned”, specifies the Ministry of Agriculture. Economic losses will also be compensated for.
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