The World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) today released a slew of European avian influenza reports that included details of multiple outbreaks in Hungarian poultry, while Japan says highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in 41 wild birds.
Poultry, wild bird outbreaks in Europe
The OIE said Hungary had 24 outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 in poultry in the southern part of that country, leading to the death and culling of thousands of ducks and geese.
All of the outbreaks occurred in either backyard or commercial farms between Nov 18 and 24. The largest involved 26,000 ducks on a farm near the town of Csolyospalos. A total of 38,230 birds have been destroyed as of yesterday among 241,967 susceptible poultry. More than 10,000 died from H5N8 infection.
Germany, another European country with widespread avian flu activity, has reported two new H5N2 outbreaks in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state in Germany.
A farm in Gudendorf destroyed 2,220 birds after 50 geese tested positive for H5N2. A backyard in Krumstedt lost 98 hens, ducks, and geese. The OIE said the low-pathogenic outbreaks are not related to the current highly pathogenic strains circulating in Germany.
Elsewhere, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland reported new outbreaks of high-path H5N8 in wild birds yesterday and today. In Gotland and Malmo, Sweden, four wild gulls and crows were found dead and tested positive for H5N8.
Denmark reported 17 detections of H5N8 in dead birds found from Nov 16 to Nov 25. The birds included buzzards, gulls, eagles, swans, and ducks. Many of the animals were found in harbors or in rural forests.
Finally, one duck and one swan were found dead in Swiss lakes on Nov 28 and Dec 2 and tested positive for H5N8.
HPAI in 9 Japanese Prefectures
Today Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease blog, said Japan has now reported 41 cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds found in nine different prefectures. It's likely the birds died from H5N6.
H5N6 first appeared in Japan on Nov 18 and is likely spread by the thousands of cranes and swans that migrate to Japan each winter.
See also:
Dec 7 OIE Hungary report
Dec 7 OIE Germany report
Dec 6 OIE Sweden report
Dec 6 OIE Denmark report
Dec 7 OIE Switzerland report
Dec 7 Avian Flu Diary Japan post
