Bird flu has already killed 16 million farm birds in France.

However, with data updated to last Friday, 1,364 outbreaks have occurred on farms in addition to 46 cases in the wild and 30 in the corral. On 26 November 2021, the first contamination was detected in a livestock farm in France, particularly in one of the layer hens in the Nord section near the Belgian border. On December 16, the first outbreak was confirmed at a duck farm in the southwest, in the Gers department.

Bird flu has spread in two regions of the New Aquitaine region, one near the Spanish border, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Landes and Gers regions; and a second further north, around the Dordogne and Lot.

Third great focus, and most importantly so far, on the Atlantic frontThe Vendée in parts of the Atlantic Loire and those surrounding them.

Since 5 November, the entire French region is considered at high risk for bird flu due to the rapid spread of the virus across most of the European continent.

This included a number of applications. preventive measures, such as the closure of animals on commercial farmsprohibition of actions that can no longer leave farms, which include bird condensation or strengthened conditions for the transport of animals.

Avian or avian flu is the disease caused by infection with the type A avian virus. These avian flu viruses occur naturally among wild waterfowl all over the world and can infect domestic poultry and other birds, birds and other animal species. They usually do not infect humans. However, there have been cases of sporadic human infections with avian influenza viruses.

The Situation in Spain

At least 17 bird flu outbreaks detected in Spain in chicken farms. Therefore, more than 670,000 animals had to be slaughtered as a preventive health measure in the face of this wave of influenza in farms in our country, since the transmission and lethality of the virus in these animals was high. At the beginning of this 2022, the H5N1 virus responsible for bird flu resurfaced in several outbreaks in Spain after detecting an explosion of cases in the European Union.

In Spain, infections caused by the avian influenza virus are recognized as Mandatory Declared Diseases (EDO) in both animal health and human health. Because of its potential to cause pandemics, human influenza is monitored in Spain by different procedures that go beyond seasonal influenza surveillance systems.

The National Epidemiological Surveillance Network’s surveillance protocol for influenza includes surveillance of human cases for new influenza A subtypes through virological surveillance, investigation of influenza cases from areas identified as risk, appearance of cases. Investigation of an unusual association of cases of influenza or acute respiratory illness in poultry farm workers.

“Because of the possibility of recombination of the bird flu virus with other seasonal flu viruses, it is very important to prevent the occurrence of human cases and creating new subspecies with pandemic potential, in addition to the risk of serious human cases. For this reason, it was deemed necessary to develop a protocol for the prevention and early detection of possible contamination cases.

Health explains it Epizootic in birds due to bird flu is very intense this season in Europe. However, during the same period, only one case of mild human A(H5N1) virus infection detected through active surveillance in a worker on a poultry farm in the UK was reported to the International Health Regulations.

“For Spain, the risk of new HPAI outbreaks occurring and their spread in birds is very high and this impact is mainly related to the economic losses associated with poultry farms. risk of occurrence of human cases is acceptedAgain, Very low “For the general population, the risk for people in direct contact with birds is low or moderate,” they note.

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