Already, tests have detected the H5 strain of the virus in the dead bird, but further tests are being conducted to determine whether the bird was in fact carrying the highly pathogenic H5N1 variation of bird flu, which in humans has led to 91 deaths since 2003.
The country’s agriculture minister, Dominique Bussereau, said there was a “90 percent” chance that the dead wild duck, found in the department of Ain, was infected with the H5N1 virus.
But Mr Bussereau hastened to warn against public alarm, saying the discovery of the bird simply showed "that we are in a state of vigilance, and that we react as soon as something happens, in line with the principle of precaution.”
“There is no reason to panic, to be afraid,” Mr Bussereau said.
A three kilometre safety cordon has been set up around the spot where the wild duck was found, near the town of Joyeux, and surveillance of wild birds has been stepped up within a 10-kilometre radius.
France watches for migratory birds
France is one of western Europe’s main crossroads for migratory birds, and with the return of birds from Africa after winter there is a heightened level of alert across the country.
Two other dead ducks were found at the mouth of the Somme River, along France’s north coast, and are now being tested.
But a dead swan found in the southwest was not carrying the bird flu virus.
The government has already ordered all poultry and tame birds to be kept indoors to prevent possible contamination from wild birds.
All farm ducks and geese in France’s three Atlantic coast departments are to be vaccinated.
In spite of government assurances, poultry sales have already been affected – falling by 12 percent since the start of the year.
Free-range poultry, which accounts for around 17 percent of French production, has had sales drop by 30 percent.
African outbreaks reach Egypt
Meanwhile, Egypt has confirmed seven cases of bird flu and is now the second African country after Nigeria to suffer an outbreak of the disease.
Six cases have been detected in privately-raised poultry at homes in the greater Cairo area.
A further case has been recorded in the Minya region, 250 kilometres south of the capital, according to a government spokesman.
The mysterious deaths of about 130 birds at a village in the southern governate of Qena are also being investigated.
As new outbreaks continue to be reported on the continent, the United Nations’ top animal health expert has warned that a massive intervention will be needed in Africa to halt the virus’ spread.
Bernard Vallat, who heads the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said prevention efforts in Africa would “have to be much superior to that in southeast Asia, almost colossal.”
“If several regions are affected, as it seems the case with Nigeria, we must vaccinate all the chickens,” Mr Vallat told the French newspaper, Le Figaro.
He added that this would be a very costly procedure, requiring urgent international aid.