France slipped through the cracks and narrowly escaped avian flu

France has largely escaped avian flu in recent months thanks to a combination of low circulation of the virus in Europe and the vaccination of ducks, which it is the only European country to practice, the head of the national reference laboratory for avian influenza at the AFP Ances health agency. A total of just ten poultry outbreaks and 22 wild cases have been reported in France since the start of the season in August 2023, according to the latest weekly bulletin of the French Epidemiological Surveillance Platform in Animal Health (ESA) collecting data up to March. 3.

At the same time last year (as of March 5, 2023), there were 307 poultry outbreaks, 85 captive bird outbreaks (zoo, backyard and ornamental birds) and 323 wild cases. combination of “Two favorable conditions“Vaccination and Low Circulation of Viruses in Wildlife”.Affects the number of outbreaks detected in France», affirmed Beatrice Grassland. “Other countries also produce ducks, notably Hungary, and do not vaccinate, and there the number of affected farms was much higher.“, underlined the manager.

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Avian influenza virus continues to circulate in Europe

France, particularly affected by the virus since 2015, slaughtered more than 30 million poultry between the summer of 2021 and last year. It has therefore decided to make vaccination against avian flu mandatory in more than 250 duck farms, excluding duck breeding, with a campaign starting from October 1. In total, as of early March, 21.6 million ducks received at least one injection, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

At the same time, “A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus» continues to tour Europe, «But less significantly than last year in the same period», suggests Béatrice Grasland. According to the ESA bulletin, 288 poultry outbreaks, 61 captive bird outbreaks and 690 wild cases have been reported in Europe since August 1, with 33 countries detecting the presence of the virus on their territory.

In the same period last year, there were 881 poultry outbreaks (mainly in France, the United Kingdom and Hungary), 352 captive bird outbreaks and 2,206 wild cases. Given the apparent success of the vaccination campaign in France, will it be extended to other countries? “This is a decision of each state.», suggests Béatrice Grasland. Extension of vaccination to other species such as chickens or turkeys will depend on that.Cost assessment“, she added.