The bird flu epidemic in Europe in late 2021-2022 was the worst on record according to EU Food Safety Agency (EFSA).
“During the first year of the epidemic, from October 2021 to September 2022 inclusive, 2,520 outbreaks were recorded among poultry, 227 among captive birds, and 3,867 among wild birds in a total of 37 European countries,” the agency notes.”
50 million birds were killed
About 50 million birds were killed due to outbreaks on farms and poultry farms. At the same time, this time for the first time there was no clear break between the epidemic of the previous year and the new one, starting in October 2022.
Through waterfowl
Cases of the disease among seabirds, compared to the summer, decreased, but among other waterfowl and poultry began to increase. The increase in the number of cases of infection among birds since the summer may be related to the spread of the virus through waterfowl.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control believes that the threat of bird flu to humans is currently low, and slightly higher for those who work in poultry farming or other areas that involve contact with birds.
In addition, at the request of the European Commission, EFSA is investigating the availability of bird flu vaccines and possible strategies for their use.
Recall that…
It will be recalled that France has introduced a “high” level of preparedness for bird flu in the country, forcing poultry farms to keep birds in closed rooms in order to curb the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Earlier in the USA, more than 22.8 million birds had to be destroyed due to the bird flu epidemic. The record for bird flu in the United States was set in 2014-15 when 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered at 200 poultry farms in 15 states. The disease cost the poultry industry $3 billion in 2014-15 and required another $1 billion in federal spending.
In Europe, the largest outbreak of bird flu in history was recorded in January 2022. In Europe, 675 cases of infection of wild birds and 534 cases of infection of domestic animals were confirmed. It was also noted that last year cases of bird flu were detected in mammals, in particular in red foxes.
Also, 19,000 chickens will be destroyed in Bulgaria due to an outbreak of bird flu. This is the third outbreak of bird flu at a poultry factory in the village of Kryve Pole near the city of Haskovo in the last three years