France reports H5 bird flu virus on Turkey farm

France has detected the H5 subtype of bird flu on a turkey farm, raising fears today that the European Union’s top poultry producer could record the first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 flu strain in commercialse in nearby Lyon, said today that France would be “one of the best-prepared countries” in the event of a flu pandemic.

A veterinarian who suspected bird flu at the Versailleux farm raised the alarm yesterday after a high death rate was observed. The farm, where more than 11,000 turkeys were kept, was sealed off and the surviving birds were slaughtered.