France reports bird flu outbreak in duck farm

FILE PHOTO: Ducks confined at a farm in western France in 2017 amid a bird flu outbreak. /AFP

The French ministry for agriculture and food on Tuesday reported a highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu confirmed on a duck farm in the southwest of the country, making it the first farm outbreak of the virus in 2020.

The outbreak was first reported on Monday, but according to Reuters, it was unclear at the time what strain of the virus it was.

Europe has experienced previous outbreaks of bird flu that saw millions of birds culled in efforts to stop the spread of the flu.

"The ANSES national reference laboratory confirmed today the infection of a farm of 6,000 ducks by the H5N8 virus in the municipality of Benesse-Maremne (Landes region), in which high mortality was observed on Dec. 5," Reuters quotes the ministry.

Following the development, the ministry confirmed that all the ducks on the farm were culled, and a security zone was set up around the farm, implying extra monitoring. A ban was also imposed on the move of poultry.

The ministry stressed that bird flu cannot be passed through the eating of poultry products.