France tests bird flu

French officials say it is not possible to rule out the possibility of bird flu on a farm, where four thousand chickens died on Saturday. Officials are testing samples from dead chickens in Sarrey, Haute-Marne region, although results are not available until Tuesday.

International concerns about bird flu remain (Photo: BBC)

The farm owner said 7,000 of his chickens on Saturday morning were healthy, but by the evening 4,000 children died simultaneously.

France is the largest supplier of chicken in Western Europe, selling 900 million birds of all kinds every year. Farm owners worry that their Christmas business may be affected if the new case is confirmed as bird flu.

Specimen

An official from the French Veterinary Department told radio station France-Indo that "when no other explanation has been given, the possibility of bird flu cannot be ruled out". "We have a responsibility to be suspicious".

Currently the samples are being transferred to analysis at the main French laboratory at Ploufrangon. Farms with dead chickens have been quarantined to prevent epidemics.

In March, the farm itself was used in a government bird flu rehearsal. At that time, France also alarmed red after the migratory bird of H5N1 virus infected a poultry farm.

Millions of poultry have been destroyed in dozens of countries since the bird flu virus emerged in Southeast Asia in 2003, then spread to Europe and Africa.