Category Archives: Bird Flu

Lack of bird flu testing may be hiding true spread of virus on US farms

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H5N1 has been found in commercially available milk – but gaps in testing of cattle and humans are hampering effort to stop virus

Serious gaps in testing animals and people could be obscuring the true rate of avian influenza cases in the US and make it difficult to understand how the H5N1 virus is spreading – and how to stop it, experts say.

Facing reluctance from farms to test workers and animals, scientists are now turning to experimental studies to understand how H5N1, a highly pathogenic bird flu, is spreading through cows and on to other farms.

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Australia’s back yard chicken owners urged to implement biosecurity measures in case of bird flu outbreak

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Australia is the only continent free from the highly contagious H5N1 virus, after it was detected in wild bird colonies in Antarctica in February

Back yard chicken owners in Australia have been urged to implement biosecurity measures to prevent contact with wild birds in the wake of a global avian influenza outbreak.

Australia remains the only continent without HPAI H5 (high pathogenicity avian influenza of subtype H5), after scavenging skua birds on mainland Antartica tested positive for bird flu in February. Symptoms for affected birds include diarrhoea, sneezing, a reduction in egg production and sudden death.

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Polar bear dies from bird flu as H5N1 spreads across globe

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Highly contagious virus could bring “one of largest ecological disasters of modern times” say scientists

A polar bear has been killed by bird flu as the highly contagious H5N1 virus spreads into the most remote parts of the planet.

The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,” Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.

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Galápagos Islands tightens biosecurity as avian flu threatens unique species

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Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands’ endemic birds

National park authorities on the Galápagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago’s unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.

“From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza,” Danny Rueda, director of the Galápagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination.

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Avian flu may have killed millions of birds globally as outbreak ravages South America

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Virus has spread around the world, with 200,000 wild birds dead in Peru alone and concerns Australia could be next

Millions of wild birds may have died from bird flu globally in the latest outbreak, researchers have said, as the viral disease ravages South America, with 200,000 deaths recorded in Peru alone.

The highly infectious variant of H5N1, which gained momentum in the winter of 2021, caused Europe’s worst bird flu outbreak before spreading globally. The disease reached South America in November 2022, and has now been reported on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica.

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Bird flu: H5N1 virus in Brazil wild birds prompts animal health emergency

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Health declaration to last 180 days, as world’s biggest exporter of chicken meat detects virus for first time ever

Brazil has declared a state of animal health emergency for 180 days in response to its first ever detection of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in wild birds.

Brazil – the world’s biggest chicken meat exporter with US$9.7bn in sales in 2022 – has so far confirmed eight cases of the H5N1 in wild birds, including seven in Espirito Santo state and one in Rio de Janeiro state.

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Australia poorly prepared for deadly avian flu that kills millions of wild birds, experts warn

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Conservationists call for national response plan for possible arrival of HPAI H5, which so far has affected 300 species worldwide

Conservationists have warned Australia is poorly prepared for the potential arrival of a deadly form of avian influenza that has killed millions of birds and thousands of mammals overseas.

When HPAI H5 (high pathogenicity avian influenza of subtype H5) arrived in South America late last year it killed more than 60,000 seabirds and 3,500 sea lions within weeks in Peru alone.

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Farne Islands to remain closed after three new cases of bird flu detected

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National Trust rangers brace for second year of mass deaths on islands off Northumberland coast

A group of islands that make up one of the UK’s most important bird sanctuaries are to remain closed after new cases of avian flu were detected.

The disease devastated the seabird population of the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, last year and National Trust rangers expect thousands more deaths this year.

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Avian flu outbreak in the Gambia threatens birds on East Atlantic Flyway

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Hundreds of dead birds found in past three weeks as conservationists call for international funding to help stop the disease spreading on migration routes

An outbreak of avian influenza in seabirds in the Gambia could affect vast numbers of birds migrating along the East Atlantic Flyway, unless international funding is secured, warn conservationists.

Teams from the West African Bird Study Association (Wabsa), the Gambia’s Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, and UK-based NGO Conservation Without Borders have buried hundreds of dead birds over the past three weeks, including some ringed birds from Europe.

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Farne Islands shut to visitors over fears of new avian flu outbreak

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Rangers work to avoid repeat of last year’s devastating losses in breeding seabird colonies on the islands off the Northumberland coast

The Farne Islands will not open to visitors this spring in anticipation of bird flu once again ravaging breeding seabird colonies, after an “unprecedented” spate of deaths last year.

The rocky outcrop of islands off the coast of Northumberland has been looked after by the National Trust since 1925 and there are no previous records of so many endangered seabirds dying at once. More than 6,000 carcasses were picked up last year, which is believed to be the tip of the iceberg compared with how many birds would have died in total.

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Producers feared David Attenborough would catch bird flu and die during filming

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Plans to film veteran broadcaster close to birds for Wild Isles series pulled over concerns about his health

Television producers feared David Attenborough would catch bird flu and die during filming for his latest series – likely to be the veteran broadcaster’s last job on location.

Wild Isles, which premieres on Sunday, will be Attenborough’s first landmark series on the natural history of Britain and Ireland. Filmed over the course of three years, the five-part series aims to shine a light on the challenges affecting the British Isles and celebrate nature that exists on our doorsteps.

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WHO says avian flu cases in humans ‘worrying’ after girl’s death in Cambodia

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Child died and father tested positive for H5N1, prompting fears of possible person-to-person transmission

The discovery of two cases of bird flu within the same family in Cambodia has highlighted the concern over potential human-to-human spread of the virus, although experts have stressed the risk remains low.

On Thursday, Cambodian authorities reported an 11-year-old girl from Prey Veng province had died from H5N1, with subsequent testing of 12 of her contacts revealing that her father also had the virus.

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Bird flu: 11-year-old girl in Cambodia dies after being infected

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Case is the country’s first known human infection with H5N1 strain since 2014, health minister says

An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died after being infected by a strain of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, the government says.

It was the first known human infection with the H5N1 strain in the country since 2014, the health minister, Mam Bunheng, said in a statement on Thursday.

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‘Unprecedented’ bird flu epidemic sees almost 50m birds culled across Europe

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Poultry farmers from Arctic to Portugal reported 2,500 outbreaks in past year, with migrating birds taking avian flu to North America

The UK and continental Europe have been hit by an “unprecedented” number of cases of avian flu this summer, with 47.7m birds having been culled since last autumn, according to new figures.

Poultry producers from as far north as Norway’s Svalbard islands to southern Portugal have together reported almost 2,500 outbreaks of the disease since last year.

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Calls to ban gamebird release to avoid ‘catastrophic’ avian flu outbreak

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RSPB warns of risk to UK wild bird population this winter from 1 October release of captive-bred birds

Conservationists have called for ministers to ban the release of millions of gamebirds to prevent the UK’s wild birds being wiped out by a “catastrophic” avian flu epidemic this winter.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said there was a significant risk that pheasants, partridge and ducks released for shooting from 1 October could spread avian influenza into wild bird populations, wreaking havoc in farmland and garden birds.

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US bird flu outbreak: millions of birds culled in ‘most inhumane way available’

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Controversial asphyxiation method used in 73% of culls this year despite vets urging its use to be limited

The US poultry industry has increasingly switched to “the most inhumane method available” to cull tens of millions of birds during the latest outbreak of avian influenza, according to government data.

Outbreaks of the disease, also known as bird flu, have wreaked havoc across Europe and the US this year, with 38 million birds killed in the US so far.

But how these birds are killed has generated controversy, with veterinarians and animal welfare campaigners urging an end to the use of the ventilation shutdown method, which kills animals by sealing off the airflow to the poultry sheds and increasing temperatures to lethal levels.

Workers have described the method as like “roasting animals alive”. European officials have said it should not be used in the European Union.

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Colorado inmate becomes first person in US to test positive for bird flu

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Infection comes amid worst outbreak of the virus in seven years but CDC says health risk to general public remains low

An inmate in Colorado has become the first human in the US to test positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, amid the worst outbreak of the virus in seven years and a cull of millions of poultry in dozens of states.

The unnamed prisoner contracted the infection during a work release assignment at a farm in Montrose county where workers were euthanising an infected flock, the Colorado department of public health and environment said.

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Bird flu spreads to bald eagles as outbreak sweeps across US

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Avian sickness responsible for millions of deaths in commercial poultry farms in worst outbreak since 2015

The bald eagle, America’s national bird, is the latest to fall prey to the highly contagious bird flu that has been sweeping across the US, affecting birds in a majority of states.

The US is enduring the worst bird flu outbreak since 2015 in terms of domestic poultry deaths, according to new data from the US Department of Agriculture, with the avian sickness responsible for millions of deaths in commercial farms.

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Millions of bird deaths as US hit by avian flu outbreak

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US officials believe nearly 24m poultry birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, have died of flu since virus strain identified in February

Millions of birds have died in the US in recent weeks, because of a contagious strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, popularly known as bird flu.

The bird flu has also led zoos across the US to temporarily close aviary exhibits and move birds away from the public. At zoos from Colorado to Maryland, species ranging from ostriches to penguins have been moved indoors.

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Free-range eggs unavailable in Britain from Monday

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Hens have been indoors for months because of avian flu and their eggs must now be differently labelled

Consumers will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the UK from Monday, with birds not having been allowed outdoors since November due to fears of avian flu outbreaks.

Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors.

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