An outbreak of bird flu was reported on Saturday, December 18 in a duck farm in Landes, the main department producing foie gras. The entire farm has been slaughtered.
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No foie gras for Christmas? An outbreak of bird flu was detected in a duck farm in Hastingues, in the Landes. It’s about a “contamination by highly pathogenic avian influenza virus type H5N1, specified in a press release the prefecture, which also notes that the affected breeding is located in a localization ” known to be at the forefront of the introduction of the virus by wildlife “. A protection zone with a radius of 3 km and a surveillance zone of 10 km have been set up around the outbreak.
Already other cases in France
This focus is the second in the South West. A first outbreak had already been detected this week in Manciet, in the Gers. In total, nine French farms are affected by the H5N1 virus, including seven outbreaks reported in the Nord department since November 26.
Something to revive painful memories of last winter: the bird flu epidemic had affected 15 departments and led to the slaughter of 3.5 million farm poultry.
Contained poultry
From the beginning of November, French farms had already been put “sheltered”. The health authorities had asked all outdoor and organic producers in mainland France to confine their poultry, in order to avoid contact with migratory birds potentially carrying the virus.
“We are in a migratory corridor through which birds from northern Europe pass where the viral circulation is important in the avifauna, we must be very vigilant“, explained Marie-Hélène Cazaubon, president of the Landes chamber of agriculture, and herself a duck breeder.
Possible contamination by migratory birds, but also by humans:
95% of the farms are under shelter but this does not completely prevent the virus from circulating. It can also happen by man, on his boots for example. Marie-Helene Cazaubon
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1/4 of the French foie gras produced in the Landes
The Landes produce a quarter of French foie gras and has around 800 palmiped farms.
Marie-Hélène Cazaubon said to herself both “worry”, “because of the trauma experienced at the start of the year (2021), still very much in people’s minds and in terms of financial impact“, and “serene“, car “95% of breeders make health security efforts “.
In addition, poultry and ducks intended for the end of year celebrations “have already mostly left“farms,” she points out.
Read also: Is bird flu dangerous for humans?
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