Bird flu outbreaks in poultry are continuing to fall in Europe, new figures show, but cases in wild birds are continuing to rise.
According to an update from the Animal & Plant Health Agency citing the EU Reference Laboratory, poultry outbreaks in Europe are still coming down week on week since the peak in early December, and are now at just 10 or 15 per week.
However, wild bird cases are increasing, with almost 140 in the second week of February. That’s up from 100 a week ago, although it was noted that some may be late reporting. Particularly notable are the large numbers of black-headed gull cases.
It’s mixed news from the Americas, where the World Office for Animal Health (WOAH) reports that H5N1 is getting better in the US and Canada, but is spreading in South America.
Canada has reported five poultry outbreaks this week, all in the south east, and nothing in the north. The US has reported nine poultry outbreaks and three more cases in mammals including a black bear, a skunk and another red fox.
USDA data shows that poultry outbreaks are coming down, with just four commercial cases to 15 February, compared to six in January and 25 in December. The rate of wild bird cases is also coming down with around 40 in the last week, down from peaks of 200 per week. The total wild bird cases is 6,192 to 14 February.
Elsewhere, Cuba has reported an outbreak in a zoo involving several birds, representing the first report from the Central American nation. There is another outbreak in poultry in Colombia, and 13 more in Bolivia, all in the lowlands east of Andes.
Reports from ProMED show that H5N1 is in Argentina and Uruguay, just 100 miles from the high poultry production zone in Brazil.
In Asia, meanwhile, Taiwan is reporting eight outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry from last year, as well as three outbreaks of H5N2 and one of H5N5 in January.
Risk levels in Great Britain are unchanged, APHA confirmed.
