Avian influenza surge: France escalates risk to ‘High’ amidst new outbreaks

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PARIS, France – France raised the risk level of bird flu to ‘high’ from ‘moderate’ on Tuesday after new cases of the disease were detected, forcing poultry farms to keep birds indoors to stem the spread of the highly contagious virus.

The decision by the agriculture ministry was published in the Official Journal on Tuesday. Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds worldwide in recent years. It usually strikes during autumn and winter and has been spreading in many European countries over the past weeks, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. France said last week it had detected a first bird flu outbreak on a farm this season in Brittany, in the northwest.

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