Outburst of Bird Flu
Paris, Jan 7 (AFP/APP): French authorities plan to expand their culls of ducks reared for the controversial delicacy foie gras as an outbreak of bird flu rips through the southwest of the country, a producers’ federation said Thursday.
The highly pathogenic H5N8 virus was first detected in a bird in a pet shop on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in November before spreading to duck farms on the mainland in December.
“The virus is stronger than us. New clusters are constantly emerging,” the head of the CIFOQ federation of foie gras producers, Marie-Pierre Pe, told AFP, warning of a “runaway increase” in confirmed and suspected cases.
She said that around 100 clusters had been identified, mainly in the Landes department, a bastion of the foie gras industry, and that the authorities planned to step up culls.
The agriculture ministry declined to comment. On Tuesday, France’s chief veterinary officer, Loic Evain, said that over 200,000 ducks had already been slaughtered and that a further 400,000 birds were set to be culled, out of around 35 million reared each year in France.
He described the virus, which is not harmful to humans, as “very, very contagious”.
The most recent update from the agriculture ministry, which dates to January 1, cited 61 clusters detected among birds on duck farms and in pet shops. Of these, 48 were in the Landes area.
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