New case of H5N1 bird flu in France

French authorities said today that a new case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has been found in a wild duck in a part of south eastern France.

The duck was found dead on March 15 in the town of Divonne-les-Bains, near the Swiss border in the Ain region, which has already taken broad measures to prevent the spread of bird flu.

The discovery, which prompted authorities to set up a security zone, was in the area where another H5N1 case was found late last month in another wild duck, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.

At least 32 wild birds have been found in France with H5N1. France also detected the strain last month on a turkey farm, the first commercial poultry in the EU hit by the virus.

Last week, as fears of the virus were subsiding, the state administrator for the Ain region announced that some poultry could go on sale again after a temporary ban following the first cases of the bird flu.

Authorities are deciding whether or not to continue with the sale, after this latest outbreak.

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