Avian flu: 16 million poultry slaughtered in France

France

Published May 4, 2022

Tridge summary

"The epidemic peak was passed at the end of March and the epizootic is decelerating," noted the Ministry of Agriculture. Since the first case recorded in the north of France at the end of November, 1,364 farms have been contaminated by the virus, including 857 outbreaks recorded in Vendée and in the neighboring departments, where the authorities empty the farms via mass slaughter of sick animals but as healthy, preventively. Ordinarily, crises linked to avian influenza remain generally confined to the South-West, in particular, to duck farms intended for the production of foie gras. Last year, nearly 500 outbreaks were recorded on farms and 3.5 million animals, mainly ducks, were slaughtered. But for the first time, wild birds contaminated farms this year during their migration from southern countries, which led to a second wave, which is coming to an end. Birds that have wintered in Africa, southern Europe, or the Mediterranean basin "came up with a very high contamination, sufficient to contaminate the environments of the farms", explained Gilles Salvat, deputy director-general at the research center of the health agency (Anses).

Original content

"The epidemic peak was passed at the end of March and the epizootic is decelerating," noted the Ministry of Agriculture. Since the first case recorded in the north of France at the end of November, 1,364 farms have been contaminated by the virus, including 857 outbreaks recorded in Vendée and in the neighboring departments, where the authorities empty the farms via mass slaughter of sick animals but as healthy, preventively. Ordinarily, crises linked to avian influenza remain generally confined to the South-West, in particular to duck farms intended for the production of foie gras. Last year, nearly 500 outbreaks were recorded in farms and 3.5 million animals, mainly ducks, slaughtered. But for the first time, wild birds contaminated farms this year during their migration from southern countries, which led to a second wave, which is coming to an end. Birds that have wintered in Africa, southern Europe or the Mediterranean basin "came up with a very high contamination, sufficient ...

Source: Pleinchamp