Over the past week, there has been a sharp spike in reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) affecting commercial poultry farms in Hungary, while Italy has recorded its first cases of the season in this population.
Hungary is the latest European country to report a sudden increase in HPAI outbreaks on commercial poultry farms.
Over the past week, 15 outbreaks linked to the H5N1 virus serotype have been confirmed by the Hungarian veterinary authority to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The affected premises are in seven different provinces broadly located in the east of the country.
Meanwhile, Italy has also recorded its first HPAI outbreaks of the autumn/fall season.
So far, presence of the same virus serotype has been confirmed at three farms — all in the province of Padua in the Veneto region. Affected were one flock each of meat turkeys, guinea fowl, and broilers, according to Italian health authority and research organization for animal health and food safety, IZSVe.
Also registering with WOAH the first HPAI outbreaks of the season are the animal health agencies of Croatia and the north German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The Croatian flock comprised 19,600 poultry of unspecified type, while the German outbreak directly impacted 24,000 meat turkeys.
In the United Kingdom (U.K.), just over 14,000 commercial birds of the same type were involved in the latest outbreak. It affected a farm in the east English county of Lincolnshire in the first week of November.
European farm outbreak total passes 400
For the year to date, 415 outbreaks of HPAI have occurred in 22 countries so far this year.
This is according to the latest update of the Animal Disease Information System from the European Commission (EC; as of November 17). The body monitors the disease situation in European Union (EU) member states and neighboring countries. The total includes two outbreaks in Turkey (Tűrkiye) and one in the French overseas territory of Reunion — two territories that are not generally considered to belong to the continent of Europe. However, the disease situation in the U.K. is no longer covered by the system.
For comparison, 24 nations registered a total of 2,321 outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks through this system during 2022.
Since the EC’s previous update on November 10, first cases of 2023 have been recorded in Kosovo. Furthermore, additional outbreaks have occurred in Hungary (8), Italy (3), The Netherlands (2), and one in each of Bulgaria and Denmark
Of the 2023 running total, the country with the most outbreaks — 152 — continues to be France, although the figure has not changed since mid-July. At 89, Hungary currently has the next highest total.
Germany, Netherlands record new cases in captive birds
Among captive birds, 15 European countries have together registered a total of 93 outbreaks of HPAI in captive birds through the EC’s system to November 17. Included in this category are non-commercial poultry flocks, and birds other than poultry, such as zoos.
Compared with the EC’s previous update seven days previously, the total has increased by one, with a new outbreak in The Netherlands. This occurred at a petting zoo at Zaandijk in North Holland, according to the Dutch agriculture ministry.
Over the past week, Germany has notified WOAH of one more outbreak in the “captive bird” category. Affected was a hobby flock of 66 poultry in the northwestern state of Lower Saxony.
Wild birds HPAI-positive in 9 European states
Over the previous week, eight European states notified the EC about one or more cases of HPAI in their respective wild bird populations (as of November 17).
By that point, a total of 3,374 outbreaks had been registered in 28 states of the EU member and adjacent states, according to the EC System. This was an increase of 30 since the previous update.
For comparison, 3,245 outbreaks were confirmed in 33 of the region’s nations during 2022.
Based on information from the System, Germany continues to be the state with the most outbreaks (1,075 for the year to date), followed by France (404).
As well as Germany, the following countries also reported new cases of HPAI in wild birds to the EC since the previous update dated November 10: Austria, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, and Sweden.
A first ever cases of HPAI linked to the H5N5 virus serotype has been detected in a wild bird in Greenland.
According to the WOAH notification, two birds of different species tested positive for this virus variant following a mass mortality of wild birds off the coast of Western Greenland.
Further outbreaks at Finnish fur farms
Since June of this year, outbreaks linked to the H5N1 HPAI virus have been confirmed in animals other than birds in Finland.
Latest notification to WOAH indicates the number of fur farms with cases has increased by 14 to 46.
Latest to test positive for the H5N1 HPAI virus were 62 Arctic foxes at the farms. All but one of these outbreaks involved farms in the region of Western and Inland Finland. Also affected was a second premises in Southwestern Finland.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
