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Avian flu: all the ducks of a farm in Morbihan slaughtered. The specter of contagion hovers more than ever
Published on03/16/2022 at 4:58 p.m. • Updated03/16/2022 at 5:06 p.m.
Written byThierry Peigne
This Wednesday, March 16, the president of the chamber of agriculture reveals that a duck farm in Ambon in Morbihan, saw all its animals slaughtered for health reasons. No doubt about the presence of the Avian Influenza virus. The sector is worried and the authorities are once again calling for respect for the confinement of poultry.
"There is no doubt that the ducks on this farm have been infected with the Avian Influenza virus. We are just waiting to find out if it is the H5N1 virus or the H7N9" specifies Laurent Kerlir, the president of the chamber of agriculture from Morbihan.
According to him, all the ducks on this farm in Ambon were slaughtered on Tuesday, March 15, as provided for by the health measures in force, decreed by the government. This Wednesday, "all the disinfection operations are in progress".
Drastic measures
A perimeter of 3 km has been established in which no confined poultry can be moved from its farm or even sold. National measures had already been taken since November 5, French breeders being required to "shelter" their outdoor poultry to avoid contact with migratory birds that can transmit the avian influenza virus. .
Containment measures to be absolutely respected according to Laurent Kerlir who fears a rapid spread of the virus and urges breeders and individuals to bring in all their poultry to avoid any transmission by birds.
A spread that could be "catastrophic"
The president of the chamber of agriculture does not dare to imagine the consequences that could have an increase in cases of avian flu in Morbihan, the first French department producing meat poultry.
Relatively spared until then, Brittany has only been affected in recent months by three recorded cases: two ornamental geese living in a pond in Languidic (Morbihan) and two migratory birds in the Côtes d'Armor. However, strict containment measures have so far prevented the disease from spreading in the region.
For Laurent Kerlir, the proximity of the Brière marshes with a large population of migratory birds could explain the contamination in the department. The entire sector in Loire-Atlantique and Vendée is in fact either in the surveillance zone or in the protection zone.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture , as of March 15, 2022, France has 792 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in livestock, 36 cases in wildlife and 17 cases in backyards.
The poultry sector in turmoil
With all the measures in place for several months, the government hoped to avoid a repeat of last winter's episode (2020-2021). Avian flu had spread to farms in the South-West and had only been stopped at the cost of the slaughter of more than 3.5 million poultry , mainly ducks.
This Wednesday, the ANVOL meat poultry interprofession speaks of a crisis "as violent as it is unexpected" , facing "the most serious health crisis in its history" . The sector is indeed affected by the soaring prices of cereals supplied to animals, energy and fertilizers with the war in Ukraine.
This is the fourth time since 2015 that France has been affected by avian flu. But in recent weeks the epizootic is gaining ground. Until then confined to the South-West, it has recently spread to the west of the Pays de la Loire, the second poultry producing region behind Brittany. Millions of ducks and other poultry have been culled to stem the virus.
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