France’s agriculture ministry on Wednesday said an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu had been found in the southwest part of the country.
The bird flu outbreak, found among chickens, is the first reported in France since 2007 when it was detected in wild swans, data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) showed.
The latest incident marks the first case of H5N1 reported in the EU since outbreaks in Bulgaria and Romania were detected in March.
A national intervention emergency plan is in action, following European and international rules.
A monitoring zone of up to 10km has been established.
Authorities will evaluate the strain’s degree of danger to humans, though early indications are that it is low.
H5N1 bird flu first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong.
Since its reemergence in 2003 and 2004, H5N1 has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, causing millions of poultry infections, several hundred human cases and many human deaths.
The French farm ministry insisted it cannot be transmitted to humans through meat, eggs, foie gras or any food products.
Agencies/Canadajournal
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