France: Ministry confirms H5N8 avian influenza outbreak in duck farm; all infected culled

France's Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday, December 8, confirmed that a highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza had been detected in a duck farm in the southwest of the country. This confirmed the country's first outbreak of the virus this year. The ministry in a statement said that all the infected ducks were culled and a security zone was also set up around the farm. Also, a ban on movement of poultry has been imposed. 

Ministry issues a statement 

The Ministry, in a statement said, “The ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) national reference laboratory confirmed today the infection of a farm of 6,000 ducks by the H5N8 virus in Benesse-Maremne (Landes region), in which high mortality was observed on December 5.'' Also, the Ministry revealed that three wild swans and one wild goose were found dead last week due to the virus. The H5N8 virus has never been detected in humans and has been spreading rapidly in wildlife in Europe due to the migratory birds.

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Previous cases in France  

Previously, after reports of several cases of Bird Flu in western Europe, France on November 4 put parts of the country on high alert. The French government called to cull 200,000 chickens in the east of the country after the disease had spread among the wild animals near France's borders. According to a France 24 report, as many as 45 French departments were declared "high" risk amid fears of the spread of avian influenza first detected in the migratory birds. As per an update published in France’s official decree, the migratory channel that crosses national territory attracts birds and it has raised the level of risk for France. 

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Also, following the footsteps of Netherlands after avian influenza was detected in two swans, the UK sought immediate measures to stop the ailment from transmitting, as small clusters of human cases are possible in people exposed to infected poultry or contaminated farms. UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss told Independent that the Boris Johnson government took immediate steps to limit the risk of the disease, and all remaining poultry and captive birds at the farm were ordered to be culled. Infection was detected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK, although Public Health England (PHE) said that public health threat from avian flu wasn’t major and remains uncommon. Germany, meanwhile, reported a solitary case of bird flu in the northern farms of the country.

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