French And Foreign Consumers Shun French Poultry

Featured Article
Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Veterinary
Article Date: 26 Feb 2006 - 17:00 PDT

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The French poultry industry is starting to feel the devastating consequences of the psychological fear of bird flu as French and foreign consumers stop buying poultry products. According to various sources in France, chicken meat sales have dropped by 30%. Despite President Jacques Chirac's assurances that cooked chicken meat is perfectly safe to eat.

At a Paris farm show, Jacques Chirac ate chicken in front of reporters.

Japan and Hong Kong have temporarily banned the imports of French poultry products after a Turkey farm in France was found to have the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain.

The European Union is urging its trading partners not to over-react. Peter Mandelson, European Trade Commissioner said "There can be a tendency to over-react and this can bring us much danger."

France is the EU's largest poultry producer. 20% of the EU's poultry production comes from France. The industry represents Euros 4 billion per year for the French economy. Its largest exports go to the Middle East and Russia.

Sales of chicken meat have fallen in many parts of the world, from China to the Middle East to Western Europe.

In the last couple of weeks the bird flu virus has spread rapidly through the EU and other Western European countries. So far, the following countries have confirmed cases of H5N1 infected birds:

-- Austria
-- France
-- Greece
-- Hungary
-- Italy
-- Slovenia
-- Switzerland (non EU country)

British farmers wait anxiously, hoping the bit of sea that separates the country from mainland Europe may once again protect them, as it has often done in the past.

There is a debate at the moment in Great Britain about whether to vaccinate poultry or not. If you vaccinate poultry, the chickens are protected from the illness. However, they can still carry the virus and infect other people or birds. The problem with vaccination is that you will then not know how widespread the virus is in your country. In other words, vaccination does not stop the spread - it just masks it.

Over the last couple of years the H5N1 strain has spread from south East Asia to Western Europe and West Africa. Three continents now have the bird flu virus - Asia, Africa and Europe. North and South America, Australasia and Antarctica are the only continents left (free of H5N1). As birds migrate every spring and autumn (fall) ornithologists say the virus will spread further. Australasia is not far from Indonesia, where bird flu has established itself. From Russia birds do fly over to Alaska and then south into North America (bird flu is present in Russia). The most northern parts of North America are vast and difficult to monitor. Experts say the only continent likely to remain free of bird flu is Antarctica.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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