France faces its worst bird flu outbreak ever

According to the French Ministry of Agriculture, since the end of November 2021, France has been forced to culling more than 13 million poultry to prevent the spread of avian influenza, which is believed to be caused by wild birds. brought migration.

Number poultry destroyed spike after the virus appeared in the largest poultry farming areas of France.

Statistics from the French Ministry of Agriculture show that, as of April 8, the country has recorded 1,230 outbreaks of the disease. avian flu on livestock farms since the first outbreak was detected on November 26, 2021. The rate of disease transmission in poultry has increased by more than 10% in just 8 days.

The spread of avian influenza has alarmed governments in many countries, not only because of the impact on the poultry industry, but also the potential for restrictions on trade, as well as the risks that the disease could be affected. can be transmitted to humans.

France had to mass cull poultry during a severe outbreak of bird flu. (Photo: Reuters)

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus has spread rapidly in Europe in recent months. Not only France, many other countries in this continent (typically Italy) also had to destroy a large amount of poultry.

Bird flu is spread mainly through the feces of infected wild birds. The H5N1 virus is highly virulent, can cause disease and death in poultry, and can infect other animals such as cats, pigs and tigers.

Although in most cases people do not get the disease if they eat the meat of infected poultry, in rare cases, avian flu can still infect people who have close contact with infected birds. sick.

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