Bird flu detected in French duck farm

The highly pathogenic bird flu avian influenza has been detected in a duck farm in France's southwestern department of Gironde, according to a media report.

According to French daily newspaper Le Figaro, the owner had bought, without knowing, infected animals in a barnyard in the Seine-et-Marne department located in eastern Paris, Xinhua news agency reported.

Regulated protection and surveillance zones have been set up around the outbreak by the local authorities.

It is the second case of avian influenza in the department, according to Le Figaro.

The bird flu has caused the culling of 21 million animals in France since last winter.