(Paris) It is present in Europe, Asia and Africa: outbreaks of avian flu have been detected in more than 40 countries in poultry and wild birds since May and the outbreaks “multiply”, warns the World Organization animal health (OIE).
She calls on countries to “step up their surveillance efforts and implement strict biosecurity measures” in this “high-risk period, from October to April,” in a November 19 statement.
The OIE also asks them to “ensure to notify the outbreaks in a timely manner in order to stop the spread of the disease”.
In France, avian flu, already spotted among wild birds and in some backyards, has affected a first commercial breeding of laying hens in the north of the country, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Saturday.
This disease constitutes “a threat” to economic stability, food security and the subsistence of many populations, notes the OIE, an almost century-old intergovernmental organization based in Paris.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a disease “very contagious, which affects several species of poultry as well as domestic and wild birds, and, occasionally, humans”, recalls the OIE.
A person can be infected by close contact with infected birds. On the other hand, “nothing indicates that the consumption of poultry or eggs suitable for human consumption could transmit this virus to humans”, specifies the OIE on its site.
“Increased risk”
In recent years, many subtypes of avian influenza viruses have circulated in various populations of birds over a wide geographic area. In 2021, unprecedented genetic variability of avian influenza virus subtypes was reported in birds, “creating a difficult situation from an epidemiological point of view,” underlines the OIE.
The subtypes currently circulating globally in poultry and wild birds are H5N1, H5N3, H5N4, H5N5, H5N6 and H5N8.
Avian influenza is seasonal, with most outbreaks occurring during the northern hemisphere winter.
Outbreaks typically begin to increase in October, peak in February, and continue through April.
Almost 16,000 cases of avian influenza in domestic and wild birds have already been reported this year in October, “which suggests an increased risk of the virus circulating”, worries the OIE.
“On rare occasions, the disease can also pose a risk to human health. To date, some recent human cases have been associated with the currently circulating H5N6 subtype ”in Asia, says the OIE.
Due to the consequences of the disease “on the subsistence of poultry farmers and on international trade as well as the risks of transmission to humans”, the animal health sector must implement “strict biosecurity measures in farms, in trade and on the markets of live birds in order to prevent its spread ”, insists the OIE.