The French Ministry of Agriculture announced that the spread of bird flu has accelerated in recent weeks in the country, the second largest producer of poultry in the European Union, which raises fears of further shortages.
France had already detected an increase in the outbreak of avian influenza during the summer, after it witnessed the worst wave of the disease last season, which caused the death of about 20 million chickens, ducks and turkeys, and a sharp decline in the production of poultry and ‘foie gras’ (goose or duck liver), reports a local Arabic daily quoting Reuters.
“The health situation of the highly pathogenic avian influenza strain (HBAI) in France has deteriorated since August and has worsened in recent weeks,” the Ministry of Agriculture said.
The source added that by December 20, 217 outbreaks of the disease had been detected on French farms, up from 100 cases on the second of the same month, and cases had also increased sharply in the wild.
French Agriculture Minister Marc Visnot is due to travel to the region on Thursday to develop a vaccination strategy to combat the disease.
More than half of the outbreaks are concentrated in farms in the Pays de la Loire region, which has a high density of poultry.
Avian influenza is spreading worldwide, ravaging flocks of birds, causing the death of more than 100 million birds in Europe and the United States alone.
Although the virus is harmless to food, its spread is a concern for governments and the poultry industry because of the severe damage it can cause to bird flocks, the possibility of restrictions on trade and the risk of transmission to humans.