France regained its “free” status from avian flu on Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Wednesday. The latter based his decision on the fact that no new outbreak has occurred for a month. The risk level linked to avian flu in mainland France was raised to “high” in November, which implied, for example, the obligation to shelter animals in certain cases.
A dozen poultry farms affected in November
The “free” status, which lifts these obligations, “opens more favorable prospects for our sectors”, indicated the Ministry of Agriculture in a press release.
France no longer had “free” status since August. A total of twelve outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have since been detected in poultry farms, and three in farmyards. Surveillance of the last two infected sites, in Landes and Allier, was lifted on December 15 and 16.
“Constant vigilance must nevertheless be maintained by all players in the sector,” specifies the Ministry of Agriculture, which recalls that the virus is still circulating among wild birds in Europe, particularly in migration corridors.
A first human case in the United States
26 European countries have detected the presence of avian influenza viruses on their territory since August 1, indicates the latest weekly bulletin from the French animal health epidemiological surveillance platform.
A first serious case of avian flu has also been detected in humans in the United States, health authorities announced on Wednesday.
The epizootic, – the equivalent of an epidemic in animals -, which rages from the Americas to Australia, affected France from 2015 to 2017 then almost continuously since the end of 2020. The country has euthanized tens of millions of poultry in recent years. The economic losses amount to billions of euros. To break the spiral of contamination and massive slaughters, the government has made vaccination compulsory since the fall of 2023 in farms of more than 250 ducks (excluding breeding ducks) at the end of 2023.
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