The EU and the UK have been hit by an unprecedented wave of bird flu

The European Union and the United Kingdom are facing an unprecedented wave of bird flu from autumn 2021. Report it Guardian. A particularly UK headline highlights the geographical spread of cases across the 15 EU countries and the UK: “Between the Svalbard Archipelago [territoire norvégien de l’océan Arctique] and southern Portugal, where nearly 2,500 bird flu cases have been reported since last year on European poultry farms. A total of 47.5 million birds were slaughtered on farms last year.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, an agency of the European Union, the phenomenon affects both domesticated and wild birds. “The virus has reached seabird breeding colonies along the North Atlantic coast, where it is wreaking havoc.”

Highly pathogenic variants

“Over the years, bird flu cases have been declining due to rising temperatures in winter and the cessation of migration of some wild species. Tell me in detail Guardian. But this summer, the epidemic has not weakened in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, and experts fear that some of the most pathogenic strains are now in wildlife, leading to year-round contamination risks around the world. From June to September, the number of cases is five times higher than the same summer period in 2021.

The epizootic also appears to have crossed the Atlantic. American and Canadian breeders had to carry out large numbers of chickens.

Some experts fear that the situation will get a little worse in winter. “The migration season is about to start, and more wild birds are wintering in Europe. And given the persistence of the virus on the continent, they are more at risk of contracting the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) than in previous years”, Guilhem de Seze, responsible for risk assessment for the European Food Safety Authority, is an author Report On the question.