The French farming ministry on Wednesday announced it would step up precautionary measures as a spike in new avian influenza cases was detected in farms located in the country's Western Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions, reported Reuters.

Seventeen avian influenza clusters have been detected in the two regions as of last Friday, the ministry said in a statement, adding it therefore put in place additional checks and ordered farms to keep their birds inside as tests for the virus are being carried out.

Europe has experienced its worst bird flu crisis ever this year with nearly 50 million poultry culled.