(NAFB) – The French Ministry of Agriculture last week expanded the control and prevention measures of high pathogen avian influenza.

France is supervising the movements of poultry in a dense breeding area following several detections of the virus and will implement an economic support system for breeders in the area. The measures apply in a larger perimeter to limit the risks of contamination in a breeding area at high risk of spreading the virus. Movements in the new restricted area will comply with a health protocol ensuring the absence of the spread of the disease, established by the operators and validated by decentralized services.

Since December 16, when the first H5N1 outbreak was confirmed at a duck farm, 22 new outbreaks have been identified. The affected farms were depopulated each time, then disinfected. A protection zone of three kilometers and a surveillance zone of ten kilometers were set up around each farm.