Europe has recorded the lowest number of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in poultry and wild birds since 2019/2020 and the risk to the general public remains low. These are the main findings of the latest report on avian influenza produced by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Reference Laboratory, based on data reported between April and June 2024.
The improvement in the situation in Europe may be related to several factors that require further investigation, but crucial factors include the immunity acquired by wild birds after previous infections, a decline in some wild bird populations, a decrease in environmental pollution and a change in the genotypic composition of the virus.
Despite declining numbers, the Hpai virus continues to circulate among European wild birds throughout the year, the experts noted, and recommended increased surveillance ahead of the next flu season.
Australia has reported its first HPAI cases in many years, and the various subtypes circulating in Australia have not been reported anywhere else in the world so far.
Experts note the unexpected diversity of mammalian species infected with HPAI in North America, as well as the fact that different viral genotypes circulate among poultry, wild birds, and mammals. Direct cow-to-cow transmission has not yet been confirmed. Meanwhile, unexpectedly, raw milk has been found to be a new infection vector. Currently available evidence indicates that industrial pasteurization contributes significantly to the inactivation of HPAI in raw milk.
