Tests have confirmed that three swans found dead in eastern France were killed by the H5N1 bird flu virus, the French agriculture ministry said on Thursday, France's first cases of the disease in over a year.
The government raised its alert level to "high" as a result, meaning that birds and poultry in mainland France will either have to be locked up or protected by nets to avoid all contact with wild birds, a ministry official said.
Pigeon races and other events where birds are gathered will be forbidden. "Michel Barnier, minister of agriculture and fishing, is putting in place the risk-prevention measures corresponding to the shift from the 'moderate' level to the 'high' level," the ministry said in a statement.
Germany said it was raising its assessment of the risk of bird flu following the French announcement and after officials on Wednesday discovered more birds that had died of the H5N1 virus, this time in the eastern state of Thuringia. Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on Thursday asked veterinary services to be more vigilant in the outlook for possible bird flu cases.
Spain already bans hunting with decoys, outdoor poultry raising and the isolation of breeding areas for wild aquatic birds in high-risk zones like bird migratory paths and wetlands. In 98 regions in France classed as at risk - some 15 percent of the country - there will be special veterinary checks at poultry farms.
In Britain, the government said there were no new measures in place yet although the situation in France was being monitored in close liaison with the European Commission.
"A preliminary outbreak assessment is under way and we are monitoring the risks. We would urge all bird keepers to maintain high levels of biosecurity and vigilance," a spokeswoman said. The 1918-1919 flu killed at least 30 million people world-wide.
France, Europe's biggest poultry producer, increased its precautions against bird flu in June, saying the risk of the disease hitting the country had gone up after it was found in a number of wild birds in Germany and in the Czech Republic.