Over the past week in Europe, new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry have been reported by the national animal health agencies of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland and Russia. In all the latest outbreaks, the H5N8 virus has been detected.
France: 29 new HPAI outbreaks confirmed
The number of confirmed outbreaks of HPAI in France has increased by 29 from last week, according to the French agriculture ministry. These put the total since November of 2016 at 402.
New outbreaks on poultry farms in Germany, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic
According to the federal ministry of food and agriculture (BMEL) in Germany, there have been a further 10 confirmed HPAI outbreaks caused by the H5N8 virus since last week, bringing the total for the season so far to 82. This includes 16 outbreaks at zoos and animal parks – one more than a week ago. There have been no further confirmed outbreaks in which the H5N5 virus has been detected.
BMEL reports there currently 43 active HPAI outbreaks in Germany, and 42 have been resolved, representing increases of seven and two, respectively, from the previous week.
In Poland, there have been five new outbreaks of H5N8 HPAI in poultry. According to the national animal health agency report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), these were in three commercial and two backyard flocks in the provinces of Greater Poland, Lesser Poland and Lubuskie. More than 31,000 poultry died or were destroyed as a result of the disease in these outbreaks.
More than 376,000 poultry at two farms and four backyard flocks in the Moscow region have been involved in the latest H5N8 HPAI outbreaks in Russia, according to an OIE report.
The animal health agency in the Czech Republic has reported to the OIE two more HPAI outbreaks in the same district of the Karlovy Vary region. The farms had a total of more than 34,600 birds, comprising chickens, ducks and turkeys, which were all lost to the disease through death or humane slaughter.
Romanian and Slovakian veterinary authorities have each reported to the OIE one new outbreak of HPAI in small backyard flocks over the past week.
HPAI virus detected in wild and captive birds
According to reports by the respective national veterinary authorities to the OIE over the past week, the highly pathogenic H5N8 virus has also been detected in more wild birds in France, the Irish Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
