France detects first bird flu outbreak since 2007

France, the EU’s biggest agriculture producer, reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in chickens on Wednesday, its first since 2007.

“A case of avian influenza has been confirmed in a backyard in Dordogne,” the farm ministry said.

The bird flu outbreak, found among chickens, is the first reported in France since 2007 when it was detected in wild swans, data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) showed.