CASTELNAU-TURSAN, France: French duck farmer Herve Dupouy has culled his flock four times since 2015 to stop the spread of bird flu but as a wave of deadly outbreaks nears his farm once again, he says it's time to accept a solution once considered taboo: Vaccination.
Besides the cost of culling millions of chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese there is also a growing fear among scientists and governments that if the virus becomes endemic, the chances of it mutating and spreading to humans will only increase. But since early last year, bird flu, or avian influenza, has ravaged farms around the world, leading to the deaths of more than 200 million birds because of the disease or mass culls, the World Organisation for Animal Health told Reuters.
The United States has been hit hardest worldwide in the latest outbreak with a toll of more than 58 million birds in the past year, followed by Canada, while France has suffered the most within the EU, WOAH data showed. Bird flu can also mutate rapidly and reduce the efficacy of vaccines while programmes are costly and time consuming, as shots often need to be administered individually. And even once birds have been vaccinated, flocks need to be monitored.
But countries such as France, which spent 1.1 billion euros last year compensating poultry farmers for their losses, believe it's time to bite the vaccination bullet. France's Ceva Animal Health, one of the main companies developing bird flu vaccines along with Germany's Boehringher Ingelheim, said initial results were"very promising", notably by sharply reducing the excretion of the virus by infected birds.
吃草
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bird flu toll rises sparking concerns of a new pandemic: 'We need to be concerned'Is avian influenza likely to be the next pandemic? Experts weigh in on its impact on humans as the animal death toll rises.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »
Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultryCHICAGO - Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem. Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the prevalence of the...
Source: asiaonecom - 🏆 10. / 59 Read more »
Atonio suspended for France's remaining Six Nations matches for high tackle on HerringProp Uini Atonio will miss France's remaining three Six Nations fixtures after he was sanctioned by the tournament's Judicial Committee for his high tackle on Ireland's hooker Rob Herring on Saturday.Atonio was sinbinned, and was somewhat lucky to escape being sent off, in France's 32-19 defeat after his
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
Bird flu sent egg prices soaring in Europe and US. Now the threat moves to chicken in South AmericaBird flu is rapidly getting closer to Brazil, the world’s biggest chicken exporter. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: STForeignDesk - 🏆 4. / 71 Read more »
Alpine skiing-Shiffrin leads giant slalom after qualificationsAmerican favourite Mikaela Shiffrin was quickest in the qualification run of the giant slalom at the Alpine ski world championships in Meribel, France on Thursday.Shiffrin was 0.12 seconds quicker down the slopes than France's Tessa Worley, with Federica Brignone coming in 0.31 seconds after Shiffrin.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »
French soccer federation audit: Le Graet's no longer has legitimacy as presidentPARIS : An audit commissioned by the sports ministry of France's soccer federation (FFF) concluded on Wednsday that federation president Noel Le Graet no longer had 'the necessary legitimacy' to administer and represent the sport in France.The audit, whose conclusions were made public on Wednesday, also '
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »