Highly pathogenic bird flu is spreading rapidly in Europe, with the highest number of countries reporting outbreaks in a decade, raising concerns about a repeat of previous crises that killed millions of birds and sent food prices soaring, Reuters reports.
The spread of the contagious disease is worrying governments and the poultry industry, given the devastation it is causing to poultry flocks, trade restrictions and the possibility of a new pandemic.
The spread of bird flu is fueled by migratory birds, and 56 outbreaks were detected in ten European countries and the UK between August and mid-October. This is fewer than in 2022, when the European Union experienced its highest level of bird flu, but more than the number of cases detected at the same time last year.
This week, Belgium and Slovakia reported their first cases of bird flu this season. Belgium has ordered all poultry to be kept indoors.
Two outbreaks have been reported in France.
birds must also be kept indoors there, the Farm Ministry has announced.
The risk of bird flu being transmitted to humans is low. Cases of bird flu have been reported in people who have been in close contact with sick birds, but the virus has not been transmitted from person to person. The WHO has said that developments should be closely monitored, as cases of bird flu in mammals are becoming more frequent.
France has started a regular vaccination campaign against bird flu in ducks raised on farms. The disease is also raging in the US and Asia, and the US has had to cull more than 180 million poultry, which has significantly increased egg prices.
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