France confirms case of H5N8 bird flu in the north

PARIS (Reuters) - The French agriculture ministry said on Friday that a case of the highly contagious H5N8 strain of bird flu had been confirmed on a farm in northern France and that it has put in place measures to contain the outbreak.

The case was reported about 15 km (9 miles) from where another outbreak was confirmed in Tournai, Belgium, on June, the ministry said in the statement. It said 11 cases of avian flu have been confirmed in Belgium since the start of June.
France is slowly recovering from a bird flu crisis that hammered the duck industry in southwestern France.



(Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Bate Felix; Editing by Susan Fenton)