54 more municipalities will have to organize the preventive slaughter of farmed birds. The measure is supposed to limit the spread of avian influenza H5N8.
The count continues. The Official Journal of February 7 once again broadens the scope of preventive slaughter. 54 municipalities are added to the list. The farms concerned will have to eliminate all of their birds in order to avoid the spread of the avian flu virus.
An additional threshold has been crossed: now 415 municipalities are targeted by this measure. The vast majority are located in the Gers and the Landes. These slaughterings “aim to strike a blow to lower the pressure and prevent transmission of the virus between farms”, as Monique Eloit, Director General of the OIE recalls – in comments reported by theAFP.
21 wild cases
If these measures slowed down the epizootic, the highly pathogenic H5N8 virus is still circulating in France. To February 7, 221 outbreaks have been identified – mainly in the Landes and Gers. This is 21 more than the previous week. The spread of the virus within wildlife does not improve the results: 21 cases have been reported to the competent authorities.
Neighboring countries are not spared: 880 outbreaks were reported as of January 25 in Europe. Other strains circulate on the European continent, all of type H5. This strain is also highly pathogenic.
Source : ESA platform
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