cases of bird flu detected in gulls
The Pas-de-Calais prefecture announces that avian flu has been detected in several gulls found dead on Thursday. Restrictions are in place among poultry farmers.
The bird flu epidemic returns to Pas-de-Calais. If the government had lifted the alert in the department on May 11, cases of avian influenza were detected again on Thursday, announced the Pas-de-Calais prefecture this Friday evening.
Thirty gulls were found dead in the Côte d’Opale region earlier this week. And a hundred birds were found dead in ten days in the Bay of Somme.
“Particularly contagious and pathogenic in birds”
Samples were taken by teams from the departmental directorate for the protection of populations, who suspected cases of avian flu. The results fell this evening, it is indeed the flu virus.
“This virus, which circulates in Europe through migratory birds, is particularly contagious and pathogenic for birds, causing significant mortality. It persists and remains active mainly in droppings and stagnant water containing contaminated droppings”, says know the prefecture.
Poultry containment
The Pas-de-Calais prefecture issued an order this Friday to prevent the appearance of the virus in farms with a control zone covering more than ten municipalities from Le Touquet to Outreau near Boulogne-sur-Mer. .
Breeders must therefore confine poultry inside buildings, limit animal movements and are prohibited from selling live poultry. Direct selling is also prohibited except in local markets.
“It is requested not to approach, feed or handle wild birds in this area and more particularly on the entire coast to avoid any risk of spreading the virus”, recalls the prefecture.
It also indicates that the virus is not transmissible to humans through the consumption of meat or eggs or “more generally of any food product”.