A record 16 million chickens, ducks and other poultry have been culled in France since November 2021 in one of the most drastic bird flu outbreaks in many years, the agriculture ministry disclosed on Monday.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the European country has been hit by several epidemics since 2015 but they have mainly been restricted to the southwest, where ducks are bred for the lucrative foie gras liver pate industry.
However, for the first time this winter, wild birds which are reportedly migrating back from the south contaminated farmed poultry, sparking a second wave of infections only now coming to an end.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that about 1,400 sites have so far reported cases, including at least 850 in the Vendee, considered strategic by the ministry because it is home to many farms that raise chickens and other birds exclusively for breeding.
Read Also: Concerns As U.S. Confirms 1st Human Case Of H5 Bird Flu
However the outbreak peaked at the end of March and the disease’s spread is slowing, the ministry said.
Culling in such large numbers generates substantial costs, both for farmers as production grinds to a halt and export markets close, and for the state which compensates the farmers for their losses.
Egg production has dropped around 6 percent since November as a result of the outbreak, according to the vice-president of the Egg Committee (NCPO) Loic Coulombel.
Last year, nearly 500 sites reported bird flu cases and 3.5 million animals – mainly ducks – were culled.
In a related development, the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had last Friday revealed in a statement that the person who tested positive for avian influenza A (H5) virus was involved in the culling of poultry suspected to have had H5N1 bird flu.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that the patient was said to have reported fatigue for a few days as the only symptom and had since recovered.
