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PARIS: Bird flu is spreading rapidly in Europe, with the highest number of countries in at least a decade reporting early outbreaks, raising concerns about a repeat of past crises that led to the culling of tens of million birds and higher food prices.
The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, is a concern for governments and the poultry industry due to the devastation it can cause to flocks, the possibility of trade restrictions and a risk of a new pandemic.
The disease, mainly spread by migrating wild birds, caused 56 outbreaks in 10 EU countries and Britain from August to mid-October, mostly in Poland — the top EU poultry producer — Spain and Germany, France’s animal health surveillance body ESA said.
This is the first time it has spread to 10 countries this early in the season for at least a decade, although the total number of outbreaks remains lower than in 2022 when the bloc recorded its worst ever bird flu crisis.
Last year there were 31 outbreaks in nine countries during the same period.
“All these cases in Europe show that the virus is far from gone,” said Yann Nedelec, director of French poultry industry group Anvol.

POULTRY ORDERED INDOOR AS VIRUS SPREADS
Since ESA’s latest report, Belgium and Slovakia this week reported their first bird flu cases of the season, the World Organization for Animal Health said on Wednesday, which prompted Belgium to order that all poultry be kept indoors.
Two other outbreaks also emerged in France, another major poultry producer, the farm ministry said on Tuesday as it ordered that birds be confined, citing rising outbreaks in Spain and Germany. Last year the order came in November and in December the year before.
The risk of bird flu for humans remains low, with most people infected having been in close contact with infected animals, but the virus needs to be monitored as it increasingly spreads to mammals, the World Health Organization said.
France has begun its third annual bird flu vaccination campaign for farm ducks, making it the first major poultry exporter to do so nationwide. It has credited the policy with curbing the disease.
Bird flu has also hit the US and Asia. Over 180 million birds were culled in the US, affecting egg prices and infecting dairy cows and people.
Brazil, the world’s largest poutry exporter, faced an outbreak but is now free of bird flu. Japan reported its first case of the season this week.

SRINAGAR: Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, a former carpet weaver in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region, now sells tea on the shores of the scenic Dal Lake, abandoning his craft of 35 years after increased US tariffs left him unable to afford his children’s school fees and medicine for his family of six.
Thousands of Indian artisans and weavers have been battered by US President Donald Trump’s move in August to double tariffs to 50 percent on Indian goods. Bhat, 49, hired a weaver to finish his last carpet before he laid down his tools.
“This profession is dying,” he told Reuters, days before he switched occupations.
The US buys nearly 60 percent of India’s handmade carpets, according to industry estimates.
The Himalayan region of Kashmir, with a handicraft industry that, according to the Jammu and Kashmir Industry Chamber, employs about 400,000 people, is known for its Persian-style tufted and knotted varieties.
Indian carpet and handicraft exports fell more than 16 percent in September from a year earlier, according to data from the trade ministry, forcing small manufacturers to cut jobs and shelve expansion plans.
“Business is slowing down because of the increase in US tariffs ... many workers are losing jobs and shifting to other work, causing a loss of traditional skills,” said Mujtaba Qadri of M&K Exports, which sells shawls and rugs — mainly to the US

A trade ministry official said New Delhi is trying to help affected exporters with financial incentives and by getting them to sell to new markets. But local exporters warned that this could take time.
The tariffs are affecting the peak export season from October to December and winter orders are getting stuck, leaving unsold goods in warehouses while threatening to wipe out an entire business cycle.
Third-generation carpet maker Mohammed Yaqoob Bafanda, 40, says the tariffs are just the latest blow to an already struggling industry.
His family business has shrunk from 100 handlooms during his father’s time to around 20 now, with the number of weavers also dropping from 300 to only “four or five,” he said.
“If a 50 percent tax continues, this industry will collapse,” Bafanda said. “I have 40 to 50 carpets in stock and no buyers.”