France’s government has escalated its response to a highly contagious H5N8 avian influenza outbreak, with over 700,000 birds culled since early December 2020 and hundreds of thousands more slated for destruction.
New authorizations for culls were issued for the Gers, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, and 11 municipalities in Lot-et-Garonne, expanding from earlier measures covering 110 communes in Landes and 15 in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Rapid Spread of the Virus
The rapid spread of H5N8, with 198 clusters identified by Monday, January 11, 2021, up from 127 on Friday, prompted the expanded measures, according to a note in France’s Official Journal. Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie reported the surge during a visit to Gers, primarily affecting ducks raised for foie gras production. Poultry farmers urged faster culls to curb the virus’s spread.
Third Epidemic in Five Years
This marks France’s third bird flu epidemic in five years, following significant culls of 25 million birds in 2015-2016 and 4.5 million in 2016-2017.
First detected in the Netherlands in October 2020, H5N8 reached southwestern France in December, threatening the foie gras industry already strained by reduced demand due to Covid-19 and China’s import ban on French poultry.
No Human Health Risk
Scientists, including Jean-Luc Guérin from the ENVT veterinary school in Toulouse, confirmed that H5N8 poses no immediate zoonotic risk to humans, though prolonged circulation could lead to dangerous mutations. The virus, a mutation of the H5N1 strain that infected humans in Asia in 2005 with a 50% mortality rate, is not transmissible through food. Denormandie reassured consumers that poultry products, including foie gras, remain safe.
Economic Support for Farmers
The government promised compensation for farmers facing losses from the culls, addressing the economic blow to the foie gras sector, a key industry in southwestern France. The region’s farmers are grappling with both the bird flu outbreak and the lingering effects of reduced holiday demand due to Covid-19.
