Europe and North America Confront Early Surge in Bird Flu Cases

Reuters

A sign that reads: "Environmental police, no access" hangs on an eggs-press vending machine in an egg-producing chicken farm in the Grand Est region in France, 6 November 2025.

An unusually early surge in bird flu infections across Europe and North America is raising fears of a repeat of previous crises that triggered mass culling of poultry and contributed to rising food prices.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, has prompted the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds in recent years, severely disrupting food supplies. Human infections remain rare, but the economic impact on the poultry sector has been significant.

While bird flu cases normally peak during the northern hemisphere’s autumn migratory season, outbreaks have appeared earlier and in greater numbers this year, affecting both wild bird populations and commercial poultry farms.

In the United States, 107 outbreaks had been reported by 18 November—almost four times the total recorded last year. Minnesota, the country’s largest turkey-producing state, confirmed its first case two months earlier than in 2022.

“It is certainly more than we’ve seen over the last few winter–autumn migratory seasons,” said Tim Boring, Director of Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “We are still well within this multi-year outbreak cycle.”

Nearly 8 million birds have been culled in the U.S. since September, slightly more than during the same period last year, according to government data.

Canada, with a smaller poultry sector, has also culled nearly 8 million birds. Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald described the situation as “very worrisome”.

“Wild birds appear to be carrying more of the virus. It is frightening in some ways,” he told Reuters.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said the early wave of infections was concerning but not yet cause for alarm. “There should not be a public health alarm. An increase in cases can have several explanations. What we need to monitor is the virus itself,” said Dr Gregorio Torres, head of WOAH’s scientific department.

Across Europe, the situation is more severe than last year, with Germany reporting its highest number of outbreaks in three years. Between early September and mid-November, 1,443 bird flu cases were recorded in wild birds across 26 European countries—four times the number seen during the same period in 2024 and the highest since 2016, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

“This season is different,” said Gilles Salvat, Deputy Director General of France’s health security agency ANSES. “Contamination among wild birds began earlier, and now we are seeing cases spreading to farmed birds.”

He highlighted that common cranes—migrating earlier than ducks, geese and swans—have played a major role in spreading the virus from northeast to southwest Europe, causing significant mortality in Germany and France.

France placed its poultry sector on high alert in October, much earlier than in previous years.

In Asia, most countries reported normal patterns except Cambodia, which has seen severe outbreaks. Japan recorded its first case on 22 October—five days later than last year—and has culled around 1.65 million birds so far.

Source: Reuters



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