Among European countries, France has been the worst hit by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the current season. Efforts to bring the disease under control appear to be bearing fruit, however, and following a period of depopulation of susceptible flocks in high-risk areas, the government has set a date to begin restocking poultry premises although the virus continues to be detected elsewhere in the country. New HPAI outbreaks caused by the H5N8 subtype of the virus in commercial poultry have been reported in the last week to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) by the respective national animal health agencies in Austria, Germany and Italy, and five countries have informed OIE that the virus has been detected in wild birds found dead.  Read more

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