Is Europe gaining control over avian flu?

There are indications that European countries are getting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the poultry population under control.

Photo by Andrea Gantz
Photo by Andrea Gantz

There are indications that European countries are getting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the poultry population under control. The most critical period – the winter arrival of migrating wild birds that transmit the virus over long distances – is coming to a close and the number of new cases reported by the national animal health authorities appears to be diminishing.

However, the HPAI still represents a threat to the health of the region’s poultry sector. New cases of the disease caused by the H5N8 subtype of the virus have been reported in commercial poultry in France, Germany and Italy over the last week, and seven states have informed the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about the detection of the virus in wild birds.

France: HPAI outbreak total approaches 500

In its latest report dated March 29, the French agriculture ministry had increased by 20 the number of confirmed outbreaks of HPAI since November 2016, bringing the total to 485. Of the departments in the southwest of the country affected by the disease, by far the largest number of outbreaks have been in Landes, with 286.

In the last week, the ministry reported to the OIE 23 new HPAI outbreaks in commercial poultry caused by the H5N8 virus variant. These cases were confirmed over a two-month period from January 25, and 18 of them were in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Affected birds included ducks, chickens and waterfowl, and the cases were detected as a result of suspicious clinical signs and/or mortality in the birds, or depopulation of domestic waterfowl in areas where the disease situation is regarded as unstable, or before transportation out of the disease control zones.

New H5N8 outbreaks on poultry farms in Germany and Italy

The federal ministry of food and agriculture in Germany reports that the number of confirmed HPAI outbreaks caused by the H5N8 virus has increased by 13 over the last week to 99.

This includes 16 outbreaks at zoos and animal parks, a total unchanged from a week ago. There have been no further confirmed outbreaks in which the H5N5 virus has been detected, so this total for this variant remains at three, and the ministry has informed OIE that the situation for this virus has been resolved.

According to the BMEL, the avian flu situation in Germany has eased slightly since the middle of March, with significantly fewer wild birds testing positive for the virus. The states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have now lifted the requirement to house poultry, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has relaxed its requirements.

There are currently 36 active HPAI outbreaks in the country – three fewer than last week – and the number of resolved outbreaks has increased by 16 to 66.

Despite these positive signs, H5N8 HPAI remains a concern in Lower Saxony. In its latest report to the OIE, BMEL outlined seven new outbreaks in that state’s commercial poultry sector, affecting more than 99,000 birds, including fattening turkeys, breeding ducks and laying hens.

The Italian health authority and research organization for animal health and food safety (IZSVe), reports a further two outbreaks of HPAI caused by the H5N8 virus, bringing the country’s total outbreaks this season to 12. Affected were a flock of around 16,000 fattening turkeys in the Verona district of the Veneto region, and a backyard flock in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

National veterinary agencies in the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland and Romania have each reported an outbreak of HPAI in one small backyard poultry flock over the last week.

HPAI virus detected in wild birds

According to reports received by the OIE from the respective national veterinary authorities over the past week, the highly pathogenic H5N8 virus has been detected in more wild birds in Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia 

Page 1 of 171
Next Page