Over the past 10 days, 18 European states have officially recorded one or more cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in their respective wild bird populations.
Even as the summer reaches its peak, there has been little sign of a decline in HPAI cases in these populations, in contrast to the pattern observed previously.
Up to June 30, 2,788 outbreaks had been registered in 27 states of the European Union (EU) and its neighbors. This is according to the Animal Disease Information System by the European Commission (EC). The figure is 108 more than that reported seven days previously.
For comparison, 33 nations registered a total of 3,245 outbreaks in wild birds with the EC’s system during the whole of 2022.
Germany continues to be the state with the most outbreaks (933 for the year to date). Next come France (355), the Netherlands (305), and Italy (178).
For each of these countries, the total has risen since the EC’s update from the previous week. Also registering more cases over this period were Denmark, Estonia, the Irish Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.
Further detail on the HPAI outbreaks is provided in official notifications to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) from the national veterinary authorities. The great majority of these identify the virus as belonging to the H5N1 serotype.
As well as the countries already mentioned, six have registered further cases in wild birds to WOAH. These are Hungary (56 new cases), Belgium (46), the United Kingdom (U.K.; 39), Spain (11), and Finland (8).
The EC does not monitor the disease situation in Russia.
However, recent WOAH notifications report a further 968 cases in the Volga federal district, and 73 on the Northwestern district. All of the affected birds were gulls.
4 nations report HPAI cases in commercial poultry
Since the start of this year, 376 outbreaks of HPAI in poultry have been confirmed with the EC. These were in 20 European Union (EU) member states and neighboring countries, including two outbreaks in Turkey (Tűrkiye).
Of the total, the country with the most outbreaks — now with 149 — is France. Next come Hungary (79 outbreaks to date), Poland (59), and the Czech Republic (Czechia) and Germany, each with 24 outbreaks in the year to date.
For comparison, 24 nations registered a total of 2,321 outbreaks in poultry through this system during 2022.
Compared with the previous week, this is an increase of just one outbreak, which occurred in Sweden.
In the U.K., one further outbreak linked to the H5N1 virus serotype has been confirmed in Scotland. According to the Scottish government, this was a third outbreak in Banff in Aberdeenshire. Local media report the affected premises as having 32,000 free-range laying hens.
To WOAH, the U.K. authority has confirmed an outbreak involving 8,500 poultry at the end of June near Bootle in northwest England.
Since October of last year, 189 HPAI outbreaks in poultry have been confirmed in the U.K by the agriculture department, Defra. Of these, 157 have been in England, 23 in Scotland, eight in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland.
In France, the total outbreaks in commercial poultry since August of 2022 stands at 403, according to the agriculture ministry. The two most recent outbreaks reported by this source were in Landes, a department in the southwestern region of New Aquitaine.
Meanwhile, Poland has registered with WOAH the country’s 60th HPAI outbreak in poultry of this year. With 127 birds, this involved a farm in Lesser Poland (Malopolskie). This was the first outbreak of the year in this southern province.
Further outbreaks in captive birds
So far in 2023, 13 countries have together registered a total of 86 outbreaks of HPAI in captive birds through the EC’s system (as of June 30). This total — covering backyard poultry, zoos and similar premises — has not changed since the previous update.
Recording the most outbreaks in captive birds have been Germany and France, now each with a total of 29 for the year, followed by Belgium with 11. Each of the other 10 nations in the regions has registered between and four outbreaks in this category.
To WOAH, Poland and the U.K. have each registered one further outbreak in this category over the past 10 days. The Polish outbreak involved a backyard flock of 30 pheasants, and a wildlife rescue center was affected in southern England.
Avian flu virus detected in dogs, cat in Italy
Tests on dogs and a cat at a farm in Italy suggest they had been infected with the H5N1 HPAI virus.
According to Avian Flu Diary, these animals were tested following an outbreak of HPAI in the poultry at a farm in Lombardy. The virus appears to be closely related to those recently isolated from infected wild birds elsewhere in Italy.
While the infection in the cat and dogs was mild, the source reports the possibility that the circulating virus may be becoming better adapted for transmission to mammals.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
