On 30 September 2022, the state services were notified of a suspicion of bird flu in four family-run poultry farms located on the heights of Saint-Paul, in Réunion. Preventive measures were immediately put in place at these sites. Below we publish the press release of the Prefecture.
Following the confirmation of positivity to the H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIHP), measures aimed at eradicating the risk were immediately put in place, including the euthanasia of the poultry and ducks held in the 4 affected sites.
In this context, with a prefectural decree published today, a regulated area was identified consisting of a protection zone of 3 km and a surveillance zone of 10 km.
Within this restricted area there are provisions aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, including in particular:
· Declaration obligations for professionals and private owners of poultry;
· Veterinary visits to poultry detention places at the request of the DAAF of La Réunion to check the health status of the animals;
· The obligation to report immediately to the DAAF in Reunion any clinical signs suggestive of avian flu or an increase in mortality on poultry, as well as any significant decline in production data;
Implementation of biosecurity measures: information on biosecurity for professionals and individual owners is available on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food:
Recommendations to avoid, as far as possible, gatherings of people who rear, keep or come into contact with poultry or other birds,
The prohibition of the gathering of birds and in particular of live poultry in fairs, markets, exhibitions and gallodromes (cockfighting places),
· The ban on releasing game.
The Prefect of Reunion invites everyone, professionals or owners in a family or personal capacity, to the utmost vigilance and, within the regulated area, to strict compliance with the requirements in the face of this risk that can have economic and animal health consequences. .
Failure to comply with the prescriptions of the prefectural decree is penalized and any case of violation reported to the State services, or denounced by them, will be systematically prosecuted.
Any suspicion, including abnormal mortality, must be systematically reported to the DAAF in La Réunion ([email protected]).
Read also – Bird flu: three suspected outbreaks detected in individuals in the West
