France has declared itself to be free of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the absence of new outbreaks for more than a ...

PARIS (Reuters) - France has stepped up its bird flu risk assessment to 'high' from 'moderate', it said on Friday in a decree that will trigger reinforced security measures around poultry farms.

France had recorded 12 farm outbreaks of the disease, commonly called bird flu, since early August, as well as three cases among backyard poultry, the ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.