PARIS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- France has escalated its alert status for avian influenza from "moderate" to "high" nationwide after confirming the contamination of a turkey farm by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on Nov. 27, as declared by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty on Tuesday.
According to the official journal of the French government, the decision was prompted by the widespread infection among migratory avifauna and poultry farms in neighboring countries, as well as in metropolitan France.
The transition to a "high" alert level automatically triggers a series of preventive measures throughout France, according to the ministry. These measures primarily include the confinement of birds and poultry indoors.
In regions deemed high-risk for transmission, the ministry has mandated farms to conduct HPAI screening when moving webfooted birds between locations.
In a proactive stance, France initiated a nationwide vaccination campaign against HPAI in October 2023. As of Nov. 5, the agriculture ministry reported that approximately 4.8 million ducks had already received their first vaccine doses. ■