Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks amongst bird populations in Europe - a view from China

A recent letter in this journal described an avian influenza virus of wild bird origin that is well adapted to a mammalian host, posing a potential threat to animal and human health. 1 Li Y. Li P. Xi J. et al. Wild bird-origin H3N8 avian influenza virus exhibit well adaptation in mammalian host. J Infect. 2022; 84: 579-613 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (5) Google Scholar This is reminiscent of the recent warnings about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Europe. HPAI, caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV), is a zoonotic disease that seriously endangers the poultry industry, human life, and public health. In October 2022, the European centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued an alert stating that the 2021–2022 HPAI epidemic season in Europe was the largest ever. The latest data (as of September 9, 2022) showed 3573 HPAI cases in wild birds and 2467 outbreaks in poultry, with 48 million birds culled. 2 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 2021– 2022 data show largest avian flu epidemic in Europe ever.available at: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/2021-2022.data show largest avian flu epidemic europe ever (accessed 3 October 2022). Google Scholar The geographical extent of the outbreak was unprecedented, affecting 37 European countries from the Svalbard islands to southern Portugal and eastern Portugal to Ukraine. 3 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2022:avian influenza overview. Available at: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/surveillance.report.avian.influenza.overview (accessed 30 September 2022). Google Scholar