BBC Breaking (Updated): Suspected Bird Flu in France; 4,000 chickens in die-off

Very breaking from the BBC... so far just a scrolling headline with "More Soon."  Please add updates as you find them; I'll do the same.  French sources would be great from you Francophones out there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/... (see scrolling news wire at top.)

UPDATE 1: The story is up now on the BBC World News site.

French authorities say they cannot rule out bird flu after 4,000 chickens died on a French farm on Saturday.

Officials have carried out tests on the dead birds found in Sarrey in the northeast Haute-Marne region, but the results are not expected until Tuesday.

The farmer says his flock of 7,000 chickens appeared healthy on Saturday morning, but by evening 4,000 had died.

France is the biggest poultry producer in Western Europe, breeding some 900m chickens, ducks and geese every year.

[snip]

"In the absence of another explanation, we cannot rule out the theory of avian flu," an official of the French Veterinary Services Directorate told France-Info radio.  "We are obliged to speak of suspicion," he said.