The French authorities have informed the European Commission of a confirmed case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5 in a dead wild duck tested in Ain, near Lyon. A sample will be sent to the Community Reference Laboratory for avian influenza in Weybridge for further tests to determine if this is the H5N1 virus.

The French authorities stated that they will apply the precautionary measures set out in the Commission Decision on certain protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds in the Community. The measures consist of the establishment of a high risk area (a 3 km protection zone) around the outbreak and a surrounding surveillance zone of 10 km (which includes the protection zone). In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors, movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughterhouse and the dispatch of meat outside the zone is forbidden except where products have undergone the controls provided for in EU food controls legislation (i.e. meat sourced from healthy animals in registered farms, subject to ante and post mortem checks by vets in the slaughterhouse).