There are now four black-headed gulls positive for Avian Influenza in the Val-de-Marne.
In December, two birds were found dead on the leisure island of Créteil, triggering the establishment by the Val-de-Marne prefecture of a temporary control zone (ZCT) within a radius of 20 km, in to prevent the spread of the HPAI virus, for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
It could be lifted after 21 days, unless the epidemiological situation deteriorates, or in other neighboring departments.
For the moment, the prefectural decree creating this ZCT therefore continues to apply.
And this “as long as epidemiological events linked to the circulation of the avian influenza virus in wildlife require it”, we indicate to the prefecture of Val-de-Marne.
A dead seagull in Enghien-les-Bains
Especially since “other cases have been confirmed very recently in other Ile-de-France departments”.
At the very beginning of January, the prefecture of Val-d'Oise also issued an order to strengthen surveillance around Enghien-les-Bains, a town which has a large lake.
The municipal services discovered a dead bird there.
Enghien-les-Bains (Val-d'Oise).
Black-headed gulls, seen here on the lake, have been infected with the bird flu virus.
A protection zone has been established around the town.
LP/Veronique Beaugrand
Following this, the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, already on alert, issued a new decree at the beginning of January to place all the municipalities in the department in a temporary control zone, against 31 municipalities out of 36 previously.
In Essonne, 59 of the 194 municipalities in this southern Ile-de-France department remain concerned.
The Val-de-Marne prefecture recalls the need to "raise awareness among non-professional poultry keepers of these biosecurity issues", reminds individual poultry keepers of backyards "the obligation to declare themselves to the mayor of their municipality " and to "all actors in the field" such as communities or associations the "necessary vigilance in this period when abnormal mortalities of wild birds are likely to be observed", in order to be able to "report these mortalities and practice research for Avian Influenza”.
The ZCT aims precisely to “maintain vigilance”, recalls the prefecture of Val-de-Marne.
Europe has known for more than a year the “most devastating” avian flu epizootic ever observed on its soil, European health authorities indicated in December.
On Tuesday, Ecuador reported the first human case of bird flu.
The country declared a 90-day health emergency at the end of November after the detection of an outbreak of avian influenza in poultry farms.