Thursday 11/December/2025 – 05:09 PM
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced a sharp rise in influenza cases Birds European countries due to recording record cases among wild birds, according to Reuters.
European Food Safety Authority: A sharp rise in bird flu cases
The European Food Safety Authority said on Thursday that an unprecedented number of bird flu outbreaks among wild birds and its wide geographical spread are driving an early and strong wave of the disease in Europe this year.
The spread of highly contagious avian influenza has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds in recent years, disrupting food supplies and rising prices, and cases of infection in humans remain rare.
Outbreaks usually peak in the fall as migratory birds head south, but this season saw early cases, resulting in the deaths of many wild birds, especially cranes common along the German, French and Spanish routes, as well as a large number of waterfowl.
The European Food Safety Authority stated in a report that between September 6 and November 28, 2,896 cases of detection of the highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus – mostly H5N1 – were reported in poultry birds in 29 countries in Europe, including 442 cases in poultry and 2,454 cases in wild birds.
Lisa Connelly, scientific officer at the European Food Safety Authority, told Reuters: We are currently witnessing an unprecedented sharp increase in discoveries of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, most of which is in wild birds.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that bird flu infected 19 people in four countries (Cambodia, China, Mexico, and the United States), resulting in one death in Cambodia and one in the United States, and all cases were linked to exposure to poultry or poultry environments.
