Experts discover cause of bird flu outbreak across Europe
Wild birds blamed for bird flu outbreak across Europe
- Europe is experiencing an unprecedented and early surge in the highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu), primarily driven by widespread outbreaks in wild birds.
- Between 6 September and 28 November, 2,896 detections of the H5 avian influenza virus, predominantly H5N1, were reported across 29 European nations.
- The majority of cases (2,454) were found in wild birds, with 442 in poultry, leading to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds, disrupting food supplies and increasing prices.
- Unlike previous years, the current poultry outbreaks are mainly attributed to introductions from wild birds rather than farm-to-farm transmission.
- Human infections remain rare, with 19 cases and two deaths reported globally, all linked to exposure to poultry, though concerns persist regarding potential mutations that could enable human-to-human transmission.