In the absence of new outbreaks for over a month, France declared itself free of highly pathogenic avian influenza to the World Organisation for Animal Health on 17 December. The return to this status is important news for all stakeholders in the French poultry sector who have been able to mobilise alongside government services in the fight against this epizootic.
Since the beginning of August, twelve outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been detected in poultry farms, and three in poultry yards. After depopulation and disinfection of the infected farms, surveillance of the last two infected sites was lifted on December 15 in Landes, and on December 16 in Allier, respectively.
The recovery of disease-free status is the result of the mobilization and commitment of all stakeholders in the sector to implement a concerted control strategy in the affected areas, combined with the vaccination strategy deployed for the second year, since October 1, 2024.
The disease-free status opens up more favorable prospects for our sectors of excellence which depend in part on export markets. Constant vigilance must nevertheless be maintained by all stakeholders in the sector.
In addition, the dynamics of virus circulation in wild birds remains active in Europe and in particular in migration corridors. For this reason, the epizootic risk remains at its maximum level (High).
