Plague: second outbreak found in France, more than 4,600 chickens killed

2024-08-21 15:03:27

A week after the discovery of the first outbreak of avian flu in Brittany, in a chicken farm in Ille-et-Vilaine, a new one was found this Tuesday. Located in the area of ​​Camoël (Morbihan) at this time, “the affected farm, which has 4,650 turkeys, has become resident”, that is to say euthanized, indicates the press release from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“A security zone (3 km around the outbreak) and a surveillance zone (10 km) has been established by the supervisor, in accordance with the regulations,” specified the ministry after the discovery of this second outbreak. These regions are located in Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique. “In order to control the risk of the spread of the virus, the movement of poultry is prohibited in these areas where the health surveillance of farms has been strengthened,” he pointed out.

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No hypothesis is made about the origin of the virus. For the first outbreak, the first hypothesis put forward is that of contamination by wild animals, the affected farm is located in an area where many cases have been observed in seabirds on the Breton coast.

Call for increased alertness

The company reminds “all players in the sector”, from breeders to breeders or veterinarians, “of the need to maintain increased vigilance regarding the highly pathogenic avian infectious disease (HPAI) by respecting the specific strict application of protective measures”, including for example the disinfection of boots, clothes and tools, which can transmit the virus from one farm to another or by contact with the droppings of the disease, wild or on the farm.

The Government announced this Tuesday that the national duck vaccination campaign will start on October 1, with the State covering “70% of the costs generated by the first three months” of this 2024-25 campaign. The renewal of the vaccination campaign is desired and awaited by duck foie gras breeders after the success last year – almost ten outbreaks have been seen since the fall of 2023.

Avian flu, which is widespread in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, affected France from 2015 to 2017 and then almost continued from the end of 2020. The country has taken tens of millions of chickens over the years recent.