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Up to 300 birds were killed after a case of avian flu was detected in Haute-Corse, a region that covers the north of the island of Corsica. Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said Monday afternoon the presence of the viral infection, harmless to humans, was confirmed. Confirmation came after thousands of birds were culled in Germany and Denmark.
He said between 200 and 300 hens were slaughtered in an attempt to prevent the flu from spreading further.
Speaking during a televised interview with the public Senate-LCP-Le Figaro, he said the case was detected in the animal department of a garden center near Bastia in Haute-Corse.
The confirmation came “following the observation of abnormal mortality among poultry” according to the ministry of agriculture.
In response to the detection, Mr. Denormandie said authorities had placed the entire city of Bastia at a high level of risk since Tuesday.
Thousands of hens in Europe have been culled after bird flu cases were registered (Image: GETTY)
Germany, Denmark and France have all been affected by bird flu in recent days (Image: GETTY)
This means that commercial poultry farms and people who raise chickens in their gardens must ensure the provision of nets for laying to avoid contact with wild birds.
And people are forbidden to bring live poultry to the markets.
The minister said: “Specific measures were immediately put in place to monitor and limit the movements around the Haute-Corse epidemic to prevent any spread.
“Conservative measures are also taken with suppliers and buyers.”
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A bird in a French zoo is vaccinated against avian flu (Image: GETTY)
Mr. Denormandie has warned chicken owners to “check the poultry.” As the virus is known to spread through migratory birds, it refused to rule out further cases in France.
He added: “Our goal is to limit this spread.
“It’s preventable as soon as all these measures are taken.”
French officials insisted that people didn’t need to change their habits.
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A worker at a zoo in France tries to catch a bird to vaccinate it against avian flu (Image: GETTY)
The Ministry of Agriculture said: “The consumption of meat, foie gras and eggs – and more generally of any food product – does not present any risk to humans”.
The disease has already appeared in other countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK and Germany.
On Monday, Denmark ordered 25,000 chickens to be culled after finding H5N8 avian flu on a farm.
The confirmation effectively blocked the country’s poultry and egg exports to countries outside the European Union for at least three months.
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said in a statement that no cases of human contagion have been recorded in Europe and Monday’s find was reported to EU authorities.
The agency has established a 3km zone around the infected farm where all poultry will be subject to special restrictions, as well as a 10km zone with intensive monitoring of wild birds and poultry flocks.
Denmark urged breeders to ensure that the birds were protected from possible infections.
John Larsen, a chief veterinarian, said: “It is important for farmers to protect their poultry from wild birds with shelter and a roof.”
It is the second animal epidemic that Denmark has faced in recent months.
Germany culled thousands of turkeys in an avian flu outbreak (Image: GETTY)
In early November, it announced the slaughter of some 17 million mink – a population three times the number – after the discovery of a mutation of the novel coronavirus in animals.
And early Monday, Germany ordered 16,100 turkeys to be slaughtered after finding the same type of bird flu on a farm in the north of the country.
Dutch officials said earlier this month they had culled more than 200,000 birds.
The spread to parts of Europe comes after avian flu outbreaks hit farmers in Russia and Kazakhstan last summer.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.
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