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Europe has suffered the largest, most devastating epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from October 2021 to September 2022, according to a report brought out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) December 20, 2022.
Some 2,520 HPAI outbreaks in poultry, 227 in captive birds and 3,867 in wild birds were recorded in 37 countries on the continent, Avian influenza overview September – December 2022 noted.
Some 50 million birds have been culled in the affected establishments.
“The unusual persistence of HPAI in wild birds and poultry throughout the summer of 2022 means that for the first time there was no clear separation between the end of the first year of the epidemic and the beginning of this year’s HPAI season, which began in October 2022,” a statement on the EFSA website stated.
The risk of transmission to humans by exposure to contaminated poultry products is considered negligible.
The report suggested that waterfowl might be responsible for the spread of the HPAI virus into poultry farms as their habitat was more likely to overlap with the location of poultry establishments than seabird colony sites.
Steps taken to arrest the spread of the virus have not been effective so far. The assessment warned that “sustained and increasing infection pressure on poultry establishments will further challenge the effectiveness of the applied biosecurity measures” in the months to come.
It warned that avian influenza could further spread between establishments, primarily in areas with high poultry densities.
This was because of the persistent presence of HPAI A(H5) viruses in wild birds and in the environment; the continuous occurrence of primary outbreaks in several countries and the possible reduction of biosecurity compliance.
The document urged identifying and implementing short-term preparedness and medium- and long-term prevention strategies. This should primarily be done in densely populated poultry areas and poultry production systems that are highly susceptible to avian influenza exposure, it said.
Testing for avian influenza virus in wild and farmed mammals showing neurological and respiratory symptoms; documentation of wild birds that were ill or died due to bird flu and surveillance of animals and humans that could be potentially exposed to infected birds were some of the other response options suggested in the report.