Bird flu cases have been reported from the Arctic islands of northern Norway to southern Portugal this year in the largest epidemic yet seen in Europe of the disease, said the E.U. food safety agency on Monday. The virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was unusually persistent during the summer and the risk of disease among flocks would increase with autumn migratory season, it said.
Some 47.7 million birds were culled as a result of 2,467 outbreaks in poultry flocks in the 2021-22 HPAI season. Meanwhile, the USDA said 46.75 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, have died or been culled due to HPAI infections since February. U.S. losses of 6.1 million birds in September were the highest since last spring.
“With cases detected in poultry and wild birds up to September, the current epidemic is clearly still ongoing,” said Guilhem de Seze, head of the risk assessment department at the European Food Safety Authority. “As autumn migration begins and the number of wild birds wintering in Europe increases, they are likely at higher risk of HPAI infection than previous years due to the observed persistence of the virus in Europe.”
Outbreaks were reported in 37 countries in Europe and as far east as Ukraine. Among wild birds, “the virus reached sea bird breeding colonies on the north Atlantic coast, causing massive mortality, particularly in Germany, France, Netherlands, and the U.K.,” said the EFSA.