The outbreaks were so far identified on wild birds but this time, the avian flu concerned a breeding of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The presence of the virus was confirmed on Tuesday in a poultry farm in the town of Le Doulieuin Flanders, between Steenwerck and Merville. “The suspicion of infection followed a finding of abnormal mortalities”explains the prefecture in a press release published this Thursday afternoon.

Veterinary visits and the prohibition of slaughter within a radius of ten kilometers

Investigations are underway to identify the source of the contamination. In the meantime, all poultry on the farm will be slaughtered by the end of the week and the buildings will be disinfected. A protection zone within a radius of three kilometers is put in place. Four municipalities are concerned: Neuf-Berquin, Steenwerck, Estaires and Le Doulieu. This zone is lifted at the earliest 21 days after the slaughter of the animals and the municipalities then switch to the surveillance zone.

The surveillance zone extends over a radius of ten kilometers around the infected Le Doulieu farm. Nine municipalities are thus concerned: Bailleul, Erquinghem-Lys, La Gorgue, Merris, Merville, Meteren, Nieppe, Strazeele and Vieux-Berquin. This zone will be lifted no earlier than 30 days after the slaughter of the animals. The breeders of these protection and surveillance zones will receive a veterinary visit and they will have to obtain authorized to be able to drive their poultry to the slaughterhouse : if the analyzes are negative, the breeders will be able to take out their poultry within 48 hours.

The virus cannot be transmitted to humans

An additional restricted area has been set up in 60 municipalities including Armentières, Capinghem, Cassel, Godewaersvelde, La Bassée, Pérenchies and Steenvoorde, Here, the farmers take care of the samples via self-checks. In these three areas, all poultry are confined and access to farms is reserved for people “essential to keeping livestock”.

The bird flu virus is not transmitted to humans. “The consumption of meat, foie gras and eggs does not present any risk for humans”, underlines the prefecture which calls on all owners of birds to respect the measures to avoid new outbreaks of contamination. In case of suspicion, you can contact the departmental directorate for the protection of populations.