In the past three months, far fewer poultry farms in Europe have been affected by bird flu than in the same period last year. This is partly due to the vaccination campaign in France and because fewer infected wild birds have been found, reports the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
A total of 179 outbreaks of bird flu were reported in poultry, 48 in farmed birds and 414 in wild birds in the period from December to early March. In the same period last year, there were 403 outbreaks in poultry, 119 in farmed birds and 1,138 in wild birds.
An important cause for the decrease in the number of outbreaks is the mandatory vaccination campaign for ducks in France; only mother animals were excluded from this. Last year, there were 181 bird flu outbreaks in France from December to early March. There were only eight outbreaks this year and ten in the entire season.
Eight of those outbreaks were found in unvaccinated animals. In the south-west of France, where there have been continuous many outbreaks since the 2020-2021 season, no outbreaks have been identified since the start of the vaccination campaign.
Fewer outbreaks in Poland
The number of bird flu outbreaks in Poland is also much lower than a year earlier. Then there were 88 outbreaks from December to early March, now there are 31. In the Netherlands there were no outbreaks in the period from December 2 to March 15. Last year there were three outbreaks in the period from December 3 to March 1.
According to Efsa, the lower number of outbreaks in European countries is also because fewer infected wild birds have been found. The fact that wild birds influence the number of outbreaks in poultry can be seen in the situation in Denmark and Moldova. Relatively many infected wild birds have been found in both countries.
As a result, there were eight outbreaks in poultry in Denmark. In Moldova there were as many as 58 outbreaks. However, these are all small companies, which means that with 2,202 animals, this amounts to far fewer poultry. In Poland, larger companies were affected and a total of almost 640,000 poultry were culled.
Biosafety important
The number of infected wild birds may be lower, but EFSA continues to emphasize the importance of biosecurity. Firstly, to keep the bird flu virus out of the company. The high number of outbreaks in Moldova is clearly related to a lack of biosecurity, which allows the bird flu virus to enter the farm from wild birds.
Secondly, to prevent cross-over between companies. Secondary infections caused by indirect contact via people or materials were found in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, among others. Efsa advises poultry farmers with multiple companies to prevent materials from moving from one company to another. If there is no other option, it is advisable to thoroughly clean and disinfect.
