Bird flu outbreak hits Dordogne

THOUSANDS of birds have been slaughtered in the Dordogne after two fresh outbreaks of bird flu were detected there earlier this week, bringing the total in the department to three in the past fortnight.

The council ordered the killing of 1,000 geese in Domme and 14,000 ducks in Saint-Paul-la-Roche where the two latest outbreaks occurred. The first outbreak happened in Biras, near Périgueux, last week.

All three sites are now under strict quarantine orders, with about 70 agricultural businesses affected.

The prefect of the department Christophe Bay said the birds had been infected with a “highly pathogenic” H5 virus that has a high chance of causing disease. Scientists are studying it to work out how it is passed on and the Ministry of Agriculture will send experts on epidemics to help.

Scientists have been intrigued by the H5 virus’s apparent lack of lethality suggested by the low death rate of birds on the infected farms, said Dr Frédéric Piron, departmental director of sanitation.

Professor François Bricaire of the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital in Paris said: “The farmers must take precautions but everything has been anticipated.”