PARIS—France has raised its bird flu alert level after a severe form of the virus was found among backyard poultry in the northeast, on top of cases in neighboring Belgium and Luxembourg, the farm ministry said on Friday.
The highly contagious H5N8 strain of avian influenza was found this week among ducks, hens, turkeys, and pigeons belonging to a household in the Ardennes region, with all the animals slaughtered as a precaution, the ministry said in a statement.
