In Béarn, 2,500 ducks from a farm were slaughtered before force-feeding. This is due to the presence of a low pathogenic avian influenza virus.
While Aveyron is facing a second outbreak of avian influenza, it is the turn of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture to sound the alert. On August 17, 2016, it confirmed the detection of an outbreak of “low pathogenic” and “residual” avian influenza in a duck farm in Béarn. This discovery led to the slaughter of 2,500 EARL Pleyt ducks before force-feeding on 11 August.
More precisely, the breeding was located in the small town of Sévignacq, located near Pau. “The virus detected is weakly pathogenic, but the precautionary principle applies,” said the prefecture. This principle consists in slaughtering all the birds present in the farm, in order to extinguish the source of the virus and to prevent it from becoming highly pathogenic after genetic mutation by spreading.
No risk for humans
The prefecture recalled that there were two types of avian influenza virus according to their pathogenic power: “the highly pathogenic, such as those detected during the winter, which cause heavy losses in the farms, and the weak pathogens which are accompanied by little or no symptoms ”.
The authorities also recall the absence of risk of human contamination, whether through direct contact with ducks or through consumption of duck meat.
As a result, the prefect imposed a restricted zone (1 km radius for the protection and 10 km for the surveillance) around the Sévignacq outbreak. In this zone, measures restricting the movement of birds, protecting farms and health visits apply.
Other cases expected
For its part, the Ministry of Agriculture has already indicated that it was foreseeable that new cases would be detected after the mandatory crawl space, the virus could not have been eliminated 100%. According to the prefecture in Pau, the surveillance plan put in place by the ministry has revealed recent cases such as Sévignacq, which remain “residual cases managed with great rigor to avoid any extension of the disease”. But they do not call into question, according to her, “the gradual restocking of farms started at the end of May, excluding the outbreaks detected”.
As a reminder, a crawl space was declared last spring in 18 departments of the South-West (including Dordogne, Aveyron, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques), following the bird flu epizootic at the end of 2015.
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