Bird flu cases spreading faster and with greater impacts

Euronews

23-05-2025

Bird flu instances affecting mammals doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year - up to 1,022 outbreaks compared to 459 - and are having greater impacts, according to a new report on the global state of animal health by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
During the same period, 943 outbreaks were reported in poultry, alongside 2,570 outbreaks in non-poultry species, including 1,548 among wild birds. These incidents led to the loss of over 82.1 million poultry.
Over the past two decades, more than 633 million birds have been lost either through infection or culling as part of efforts to contain the virus.
'A notable development in 2024 was the increase in HPAI outbreaks in mammals,' the report notes. It also highlights that avian influenza is no longer a seasonal or regional issue, as cases have been reported globally since 2022. The virus has affected new species of wild birds, domestic poultry, and an increasing number of mammal species, including livestock and pets.
WOAH warns that avian influenza has evolved beyond an animal health crisis into a global emergency, threatening agriculture, food security, trade, and ecosystems.
In some cases, the virus has spilled over into humans, raising concerns about its potential to develop into a broader public health crisis.
The situation is particularly worrying in the United States, where a bird flu outbreak among poultry and dairy cattle has led to 67 confirmed human cases and one death.
In Europe, there have been no human infections and no reports of the virus in cattle. The genotype currently circulating in the US has not been detected in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
While the risk of human infection remains low, the WOAH warns that as more mammalian species become infected, the likelihood of the virus adapting to enable mammal-to-mammal and potentially human transmission increases.
In addition to the devastating impact on poultry, bird flu is causing unprecedented mass die-offs in wild bird populations, disrupting ecosystems and threatening biodiversity, the report shows.
'As integral components of ecosystem stability, the loss of biodiversity causes cascading effects that compromise environmental resilience and global wildlife conservation,' it reads, adding that biodiversity alteration at this scale also affects migration patterns and food chains.
According to the animal health organisation, seabirds, raptors and waterfowl have suffered catastrophic losses, with entire breeding colonies wiped out.
Further consequences of the global spread of avian flu include disruption to international trade, as outbreaks often trigger strict commercial restrictions.
One example is the current suspension of Brazil's poultry exports to the European Union after the country notified the WOAH of a bird flu outbreak.
As of 19 May, the country lost its status of 'free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)' which means Brazilian authorities are unable to sign the animal health certificates required for exports to the EU.
The WOAH's report states that 'the scale and complexity of this ongoing epizootic require urgent action beyond traditional control measures'.
What are these traditional measures? Strict biosecurity and active surveillance have been the main strategies to date. While these have been effective to some extent, the organisation warns that the virus's relentless spread demands additional efforts.
Vaccination may offer a solution or at least serve as a valuable complement to traditional measures, as vaccines can reduce not only the spread of outbreaks but also the severity of infections.
In October 2023, France became the first EU country to roll out a nationwide vaccination campaign against bird flu in ducks, due to their key role in disease transmission.
According to the report, this initiative helped reduce the number of outbreaks from a projected 700 to just 10.
In addition to animal vaccines, some countries have started vaccination among people at risk of contracting bird flu, such as poultry farm workers.
Last year, the European Commission, purchased 665,000 pre-pandemic vaccine doses targeting avian influenza and took an option for 40 million doses over the next four years, in preparation for a potential future spread to humans.
Finland was the first country to receive the shipment after reporting becoming the first country in the world to start vaccinating humans.
In a world first, the United Kingdom is rolling out a vaccine to prevent gonorrhoea – but it is not likely to reach patients in mainland Europe anytime soon.
The jab will be offered through the UK's National Health Service (NHS) to people in England at high risk of contracting gonorrhoea, after a vaccine advisory committee concluded in 2023 that it could help reduce the country's surge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
In studies, the vaccine was between 32.7 per cent and 42 per cent effective against gonorrhoea, the advisory group found. That means the jab could help reduce, but not completely eliminate, the risk of infection.
The vaccine, known as 4CMenB and sold by GSK as Bexsero, was not originally created with gonorrhoea in mind.
It's been authorised for more than a decade in both the UK and the European Union to prevent meningococcal disease, which causes meningitis and bloodstream infections.
The UK has recommended that babies receive the vaccine since 2015, with Ireland, Italy, Portugal, France, and Germany later following suit.
Uptake has been spotty elsewhere in the EU.
The bacteria that cause meningococcal disease and gonorrhoea are closely genetically related.
Real-world data from New Zealand and elsewhere indicate that the 4CMenB jab could be particularly effective against gonorrhoea, though a randomised trial in France concluded that it was not effective.
The vaccine hasn't been approved to prevent gonorrhoea in the UK, meaning the NHS programme will offer it for off-label use.
Beginning in August, gay and bisexual men who have a recent STI or history of multiple sexual partners will be eligible for immunisation, in the hopes of slowing the bacteria's spread.
England saw 85,000 new gonorrhoea cases in 2023, the highest level since records began in 1918, the NHS said.
The vaccine "has the potential to help us to turn that around," Matt Phillips, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said in a statement.
But other Europeans won't have access to the jab.
The EU's scientific advisory group is not considering whether it should be authorised to prevent gonorrhoea, and a GSK spokesperson told Euronews Health that the drugmaker is not in talks with regulators to change that.
Meanwhile, health authorities in France and Italy told Euronews Health that the jab is not on their agendas, and a German representative pointed to a review that found mixed results on the efficacy of the vaccine to prevent gonorrhoea.
The Norwegian public health agency noted that the vaccine offers "some protection" against gonorrhoea, but it stopped short of endorsing the jab.
Gonorrhoea is one of the most common STIs, with nearly 97,000 confirmed cases in 28 European countries in 2023 – up 31 per cent from the year before, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Cases have been rising among all age groups and among both women and men, with men who have sex with men accounting for 58 per cent of cases in 2023.
Gonorrhoea can cause burning during urination, discharge from the genitals, and pain in the lower abdomen or testicles. It can lead to serious health issues if left untreated, such as pelvic inflammatory disease in women.
Symptoms typically appear two weeks after infection, but many people don't have symptoms and can unknowingly spread gonorrhoea to their sexual partners.
Gonorrhoea can be treated with antibiotics, though the surge of cases in recent years raises the risk that people will be infected with drug-resistant strains that are harder to treat.
That's one problem the UK is hoping to address with the new vaccination programme, according to Dr Sema Mandal, deputy director of the UK Health Security Agency.
"This vaccination programme is a hugely welcome intervention at a time when we're seeing very concerning levels of gonorrhoea, including antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea," Mandal said in a statement.