France expands high-level alert with new outbreak of bird flu

The French Ministry of Agriculture reported on Monday (16/11) that a new outbreak of avian flu, strain H5N8, has been identified in the Haute-Corse region. This virus is considered highly pathogenic and all birds have been euthanized - the numbers have not been revealed. The French minister of agriculture, Julien Denormandie, has put the entire metropolitan territory on high-level alert for bird flu, so the states of France must increase the protection of poultry farms with nets, in order to prevent the flight of animals.

Also on Monday, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) notified three new outbreaks of avian flu on farms in Germany, which led to the slaughter of 71,932 birds. The cases were reported to the OIE on November 13, 15 and 16, but the source or origin of the infection is still unknown, according to the agency. The virus identified, as in France, was H5N8.