Avian influenza rears its head all over Europe

European countries are experiencing outbreaks of avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks, with Austria seeing a large outbreak of the highly pathogenic strain, leading to the culling of over 200,000 birds and the involvement of the army for assistance. Other countries like France, Germany, and the UK have reported outbreaks as well, with France experiencing the most, primarily in the foie-gras sector. Hungary has seen a sharp increase in poultry outbreaks, and Bulgaria is implementing a vaccination plan and re-organizing the duck sector after earlier AI outbreaks. The risk of avian influenza is rapidly increasing across Europe, with concerns about the spread of the virus through migrating wild birds.

For this winter season in many European countries, the first cases of avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks have already been discovered. Authorities all over Europe warn that the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is rapidly increasing and that maximum vigilance is strictly necessary at all poultry farms. Austria, for example, has recently been hit by a large outbreak of HPAI, which led to the culling of over 200,000 birds. Health authorities even had to call in the army to assist at the operation. Soldiers also helped construct biosecurity locks so that vehicles at the infected farm could be thoroughly cleaned to prevent further spreading of the virus. The department of health and social affairs in Vienna immediately raised the risk level to high for the whole country. In the last few weeks, France has reported 1 outbreak of HPAI H5 in a flock of 51,000 birds in Morbihan, another one in a farm of 7,500 vaccinated ducks (2 doses) in the foie gras sector, and ...