A new crisis is looming at European level, due to the accelerated spread of bird flu, which may lead to the slaughter of tens of millions of birds and to the increase of food prices.
A new crisis is looming at European level, due to the accelerated spread of bird flu
The bird flu virus is spreading rapidly across Europe, with the largest number of countries in a decade reporting outbreaks, raising concerns about a repeat of previous outbreaks that have killed tens of millions of birds and sent food prices soaring.
The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza is a concern for governments and the poultry industry because of the damage it can cause to poultry flocks, the possibility of trade restrictions and the risk of a new pandemic.
The disease, spread mainly by migrating wild birds, caused 56 outbreaks in 10 EU countries and Britain from August to mid-October, mostly in Poland – the EU's main poultry producer – Spain and Germany, France's animal health watchdog ESA said.
It is the first time in a decade that bird flu has spread across 10 countries so early in the season, although the total number of outbreaks remains lower than in 2022, when the bloc saw its worst bird flu crisis on record.
Last year, in the same period, there were 31 bird flu outbreaks in nine countries.
“All these cases in Europe show that the virus is far from gone.”said Yann Nedelec, director of French poultry producer Anvol.
Since the release of the latest ESA report, Belgium and Slovakia this week reported their first cases of bird flu this season, the World Organization for Animal Health said on Wednesday, prompting Belgium to order all poultry to be kept indoors.
Two other outbreaks also appeared in France, another major producer of poultry meat, the Ministry of Agriculture in Paris announced on Tuesday, which ordered that the birds be kept in closed spaces, citing the multiplication of outbreaks in Spain and Germany. Last year, the order came in November, and in 2023, in December.
The risk to humans is considered low, but previously discovered outbreaks of bird flu have led to expensive culling programs to prevent the spread of the virus.
France has started its third annual avian flu vaccination campaign for farm ducks, becoming the first major poultry exporter to do so nationally. The authorities in Paris claim that the vaccination led to the reduction of the disease.
Bird flu also hit the USA and Asia. More than 180 million birds have been slaughtered in the US, affecting egg prices and infecting dairy cows and humans.
Brazil, the world's largest exporter of poultry meat, faced an outbreak but is now free of bird flu. The other day, Japan also reported the first case of this season.
