The past week has seen a further deterioration in the highly pathogenic avian inflenza (HPAI) situation in Hungary, based on official reporting of new outbreaks.
Over this period, Hungary’s agriculture ministry has reported 102 new cases of the disease linked to the H5N8 virus variant in poultry to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). All the latest cases — which were identified April 4-17 — were on farms in Baks-Kiskun and Csongrad. Neighboring counties in the south of the country, they both share a border with the Republic of Serbia.
Details of the number and type of birds involved in these outbreaks are incomplete in the official reports, but total losses easily exceed 1.046 million.
Since the first confirmed outbreak in Baks-Kiskun on March 23, Hungary has confirmed 180 HPAI outbreaks to the OIE. Direct losses of birds through mortality or culling run to at least 1.51 million, and will likely be considerably higher when flock sizes are confirmed.
Two primary outbreaks in important region for poultry production
Of all the cases so far, Hungarian veterinary authorities have reported just two as primary outbreaks. The one in Baks-Kiskun, which was followed less than one week later by another at a duck farm in Csongrad.
The agency considers all other outbreaks to be secondary, according to Italy’s health authority and research organization for animal health and food safety (IZSVe).
A combination of wind, high humidity, and human contact have contributed to the spread of the infection in Baks-Kiskun, according to the official reports to the OIE. Outbreaks in this county have also been characterized by clinical symptoms. In contrast, infections in Csongrad have been sub-clinical.
Mortality at the infected farms in Hungary has been highly variable, according to a report on France’s Platforme ESA. Authors from the French animal health agency report that mortality has varied between zero and 21%. The outbreaks have occurred in a region known for its high density of poultry production.
Outbreaks in southern Hungary are believed to represent the most southern extent of the recent series of H5N8 HPAI outbreaks in northern and central Europe. These are linked by their locations near the east Atlantic flyway used by migratory birds. According to the United Kingdom government’s agriculture department (Defra), the progenitor of this virus is the African strain of H5N8. This is in contrast to the outbreaks in Bulgaria, which have been linked to an H5N8 virus of different origin.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
