As part of a renewed approach to HPAI control, the agriculture ministry in France has announced it is developing a renewed action plan. The plan is being drawn up with stakeholders from poultry production, local administrations and other agencies. Set to include a vaccination strategy, the action plan will also involve additional biosecurity measures and better protection for producers of fattening ducks and geese.
According to the ministry, vaccination is seen as a potentially important tool to facilitate adaptation to the continuing threat of HPAI, which has hit France several times in recent years. Worst to hit the country was in the 2021-2022 season, which involved the culling of more than 21 million birds.
In May of this year, the European Council under the French presidency supported Member States to intensify the development of vaccination as a way to control HPAI.
According to the agriculture ministry, vaccine trials have been set up in France, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands. Results from the French trials involving ducks in the southwest of the country are expected in the first quarter of 2023.
In the coming months, the ministry says it will launch its action plan. Among other elements, it will include an assessment of vaccine efficacy in various poultry species, and an evaluation of different vaccination strategies. At the same time, it will ensure that suitable vaccines achieve authorization, and that pharmaceutical companies have sufficient manufacturing capacity.
Last but not least, the ministry has undertaken to communicate its findings at the European and international levels, as well as within France.
France confirms 77 more HPAI farm outbreaks
Following a brief hiatus during the summer, the H5N1 virus has afflicted France again since the start of August.
As of December 23, the agriculture ministry has confirmed 233 outbreaks on commercial farms. Furthermore, the virus has also been detected at 59 other locations on the mainland, such as backyard flocks and zoos.
Over the past two weeks alone, official reports cover 77 outbreaks on farms. According to notifications to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), all these outbreaks began in the period December 8-21. Directly impacted were more than 1.15 million birds through mortality or culling.
Among the latest commercial premises to be hit by the virus was the first in the eastern region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, while the majority of recent outbreaks have been in the west in Pays de la Loire.
Since November of 2021, France has registered with WOAH 1,609 outbreaks on farms, impacting more than 19.2 million birds.
Overview of HPAI on European poultry farms
As of December 18, 2,239 HPAI outbreaks have been recorded in commercial poultry flocks across Europe in 2022. This is based on the latest update of the Animal Disease Information System by the European Commission (EC). To date, one or more outbreaks have occurred in 24 countries covered by the EC since the start of 2022.
For comparison, this year’s total outbreaks across Europe has surpassed the 1,756 outbreaks registered with the EC by 24 of the continent’s states for the whole of last year.
Based on information from the EC, mainland France has reported by far the highest number of HPAI outbreaks in poultry in 2022 to the EC (1,549). This is 47 more than in the previous update dated December 10. Also recording increased cases over the period were Hungary (now with a total of 292 for the year), Germany (93), Poland (44) and the Czech Republic (17).
Rising cases in Hungary, Poland
Over the past 10 days, Hungary’s animal health agency has registered a further 12 outbreaks on farms with WOAH. More than 269,000 poultry were involved in three counties in the east of the country. These included, following a six-month hiatus, the first cases in the county of Hajdu-Bihar.
Nine more outbreaks have been confirmed to WOAH by Poland, directly impacting more than 261,000 birds. Affecting farms in Kuyavia-Pomerania, Warmia-Masuria, Lublin, Mazovia, and Lodz, recent cases indicate the return of the H5N1 HPAI virus after a brief absence.
Latest information from the chief veterinary office (as of December 25) puts the number of outbreaks in Poland over the past month at 21. Directly impacted have been around 595,000 birds in seven provinces, including recently Greater Poland and Pomerania.
Stabilizing situation elsewhere in Western European poultry
The EC does not include information from the United Kingdom (U.K.) in its System. However, the nation’s veterinary agency has reported seven further outbreaks to WOAH. Starting in the period December 2-12, these involved around 108,700 commercial poultry. Latest update from the agriculture department, Defra puts the number of outbreaks in all domestic birds in the U.K. so far this year at 235 (as of December 24).
Following a short-lived hiatus in each case, the authorities in Denmark and Spain have registered with WOAH one new HPAI outbreak linked to the H5N1 HPAI virus variant. The Spanish outbreak affected a goose farm in the region of Castile and Leon in starting in mid-December, while the cases in Denmark were at a farm with 36,000 poultry of unspecified type on the island of Lolland (Region of Zealand).
Meanwhile, Belgium’s total outbreaks since September has risen to nine. Presence of the same virus serotype was detected at a commercial premises with around 28,000 turkeys in West Flanders on December 23.
To WOAH, Ireland’s veterinary authority has recently declared HPAI “resolved” in commercial poultry. Around 7,900 meat turkeys were affected when the same virus variant was detected at two farms in County Monaghan in the northeast of the country during November.
Further outbreaks in Europe’s backyard flocks, captive birds
According to the EC’s System, this year’s total outbreaks in non-commercial poultry flocks, zoos and similar premises stands at 301 (as of December 18). One or more cases have been confirmed in 20 European countries so far this year.
Since the EC’s previous update dated December 10, Germany has overtaken France in terms of outbreaks in this category, registering 104 and 97 outbreaks, respectively. Following are the Netherlands (48), and Belgium (16). Each of the other nations registering cases in this category in 2022 has registered no more than seven outbreaks.
Not included under the EC system, the U.K. has registered two further outbreaks in captive birds to WOAH over the past 10 days. These occurred in backyard poultry flocks in Scotland and in southern England.
Also confirming recent new outbreaks among captive and non-commercial birds have been the Czech Republic (six outbreaks), Belgium and Poland (each with two), and the Netherlands (one).
More cases reported among wild birds
For the year to December 18, a total of 3,197 HPAI outbreaks in wild birds have been reported to the EC. One or more outbreaks have now been confirmed in 33 European states in 2022.
Of the total, 1,227 outbreaks have been reported by Germany, followed by the Netherlands (673) and France (290). Since December 10, totals have also risen for Belgium, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Poland.
For comparison, the EC disease system recorded a total of 2,437 HPAI outbreaks in captive and wild birds in 31 European states during the whole of 2021.
Over the past 10 days, authorities in the U.K. have recorded with WOAH 116 further cases of wild birds testing positive for the H5N1 HPAI virus.
Also to WOAH, Norway’s veterinary agency has reported a new strain of HPAI virus in a wild bird. An eagle found dead near Tromso in mid-December produced only a weakly positive test for the H5 virus group. Furthermore, it states, the sample was insufficient to determine the neuraminidase subtype.
Earlier this month, the Republic of Ireland declared the HPAI situation “resolved” in wild species other than birds. In September, a red fox was found with neurological symptoms in County Cork in the southwest of the country. The animal subsequently died, and tested positive for the H5N1 virus serotype. No further cases have been detected since that time.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
