France has detected a highly contagious strain of bird flu in ducks it vaccinated against the disease to protect its meat industry, reports Reuters.
Ferma de rate Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP / Profimedia
The Vendee prefecture said on Thursday that bird flu was detected two days ago at a farm with 8,700 ducks in the town of Notre Dame de Riez. Local authorities said all the birds had been immunized against bird flu.
This disease caused by viruses carried by wild migratory birds can be contracted by domestic animals and transmitted between breeder farms. In recent years it has caused billions of dollars in damage around the world due to the need to cull infected birds to prevent further outbreaks.
In December 2022, Europe faced the most devastating bird flu epidemic in its history. To try to protect itself, France last October began vaccinating its ducks against the pathogen.
France is trying to avoid the huge damage caused by bird flu
Ducks were the only birds chosen for the vaccination campaign as they can easily spread the virus, even if they are asymptomatic. The vaccine is not intended to fully protect ducks from the disease, but to limit its spread and the need for large-scale culling.
In addition, the vaccine is administered only in parallel with biosecurity and control measures.
France is the first major poultry exporter to start a vaccination campaign against bird flu, but despite this, it was forced to raise its risk of danger from the disease from “moderate” to “high” in December.
The measure came after new cases were detected, while authorities forced poultry farmers to keep them inside to prevent the spread of the virus.
The French authorities have so far detected 7 outbreaks of bird flu since November 27, but the one detected in the Vendee is the first in vaccinated ducks.
2024-01-04 15:46:00
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