Three key trends in avian flu patterns in Europe

With total confirmed outbreaks already approaching 380, France is making every effort to control highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

(Vince Varga | Freeimages.com)
(Vince Varga | Freeimages.com)

From the evolving highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) situation in Europe are three key trends, reports the agriculture department of the United Kingdom, Defra.

For the poultry sector, the most significant development is the continuation of outbreaks in northwestern Europe, according to this source. With a sharp spike in outbreaks in southwestern France, there have also been further cases in Germany and Poland.

Secondly, Defra highlights the recent start in reporting of HPAI outbreaks in southeastern Europe. Hungary has now recorded its first cases in poultry for this winter season. Among wild and captive birds, Romania and Slovakia have recently identified HPAI-infected birds for the first time.

The third trend is a recent decline in the number of cases in wild birds, reports Defra. While these cases are much fewer than in November, there has been an increase since the start of this year. It is uncertain whether this is a short-lived “blip” in the overall pattern. At this point in the 2016-2017 winter season, Defra records that cases of H5N8 HPAI went on to form a second peak.

France: outbreak total approaches 380

The French agriculture ministry puts the number of confirmed HPAI outbreaks in the country’s poultry at 378 (as of January 21). The great majority of the 1.116 million poultry culled up to January 14 have been ducks, and in the southwest portion of the country.

The worst affected department so far has been Landes, where 294 outbreaks have been confirmed. Other areas in the southwest part of the country reporting outbreaks have been Pyrénées-Atlantiques (34 outbreaks), Gers (24), Hautes-Pyrénées (3), and Lot-et-Garonne (1).

Included in the total are 12 outbreaks that occurred in other regions of France. Earlier outbreaks were mainly in pet shops and other retail outlets on the island of Corsica.

The ministry has stressed again that the H5N8 HPAI virus detected in French poultry since December of 2020 does not pose a risk to human health. The infection is not transmissible through poultry meat, eggs or products such as foie gras.

Over the past week, France has officially registered 76 new HPAI outbreaks linked to the H5N8 virus variant. According to the report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), these occurred between December 26 and January 11, and directly impacted almost 367,000 poultry. Of this total, 9,383 died, and the rest have been culled.

In line with the patterns of disease observed so far, a majority of the outbreaks were revealed through routine surveillance of duck flocks or mixed flocks with geese. However, there were also cases on five chicken farms. Outbreaks were concentrated in Landes and other south-western departments, with one in Vendee, which is further north but on the western coast of France.

In the first week of this month, France announced a number of new measures to control the spread of avian flu. Since November of last year, it has been a requirement that all poultry must be kept housed unless any outdoor area is covered with nets to prevent contact with wild species that can transmit the disease.

Mild avian flu reemerges in French poultry flocks

For the first time in more than a year, a low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus has been detected in south-west France.

During the first week of January, a housed duck flock in Gers has tested positive for the H5N3 variant, according to the OIE report. The birds had shown no symptoms, and the test had been conducted as part of routine pre-slaughter surveillance. All 1,173 ducks in the affected flock have been culled.

Over the following week, two similar flocks from the same region but different districts also tested positive for this virus. A total of more than 2,100 ducks at these premises have been slaughtered following positive pre-slaughter tests.

Other developments in the HPAI situation in European poultry

So far this year, 10 European states have registered one or more HPAI outbreaks in poultry to the European Commission (EC) through its Animal Disease Notification System. With Ukraine registering its first outbreak of 2021, this is one more nation than in the previous week.

Total outbreaks now stand at 167 (as of January 17) — an increase of 87 over the same period. France’s total rose 73 over this period to 132. Registering the second highest total is Germany (17 outbreaks; +7).

Over the past week, Germany has confirmed with the OIE a further 14 outbreaks in poultry. The H5N8 HPAI virus has been detected at each of the affected premises. All were commercial farms with flocks of at least 7,500 birds. Lower Saxony was the state registering all but one of the latest outbreaks, which were mainly among fattening turkeys in the district of Cloppenburg. In nearby Oldenburg, the virus was detected in a flock of more than 21,000 broiler breeders.

In the northwestern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, an egg-laying flock of 37,000 hens tested positive for the same virus earlier this month.

From Poland, the chief veterinary office has announced seven outbreaks of HPAI in poultry so far this year. In the past week, presence of the H5N8 virus variant has been confirmed in a flock of around 13,560 fattening turkeys in West Pomerania (in the north-west), and 34,100 breeding hens in the central province of Kuyavia-Pomerania.

After testing positive for the H5N8 HPAI virus, a commercial poultry flock in Russia will be culled. According to the official report to the OIE, more than 25,000 of the birds died at a farm in Krasnodar krai at the start of this month. The remaining 343,000 poultry were scheduled for culling at the time of the agriculture ministry’s report.

Krasnodar krai is in the Southern federal district. Since the first cases were confirmed in September, seven HPAI outbreaks have been reported in Russia, involving more than 2.46 million birds. Previous outbreaks have involved flocks in the Southern, Volga and North Caucasus districts.

The latest HPAI outbreak in Ukraine was in a small backyard flock, according to the official OIE report. This brings the country’s total outbreaks linked to an H5 virus to five in the southern oblast of Mykolaiv since early December. One of these affected a farm with more than 98,000 poultry, but the others have been in backyard birds.

More European wild birds test positive for HPAI

Over the past week, countries registering with the OIE more HPAI virus-positive cases among wild birds have been Germany (states of Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hessen, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and Schleswig-Holstein), Italy (Veneto region), Poland (Greater Poland), Russia (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania), Slovakia (city of Bratislava), and the U.K. (Gloucestershire and Warwickshire).

In addition, the H5N1 HPAI virus has been detected in Germany (Lower Saxony) and the U.K. (Lancashire).

According to OIE reports, an HPAI H5 virus has been detected for the first time in almost one year in Romania — in wild swans found dead on the Black Sea coast. A further case has been detected in Belgium (Liège).

HPAI virus has been detected in 10 wild birds across eight departments in France, according to the agriculture ministry.

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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