This is H5N1 Global Scan: Avian Flu Worldwide. I’m your host, and today we’re exploring how the avian flu outbreak is reshaping health, agriculture, and economies across the globe.
It’s late 2025, and highly pathogenic H5N1 is sparking renewed concern. The virus, first detected in birds nearly three decades ago, is now found in wild and domestic birds on every continent except Antarctica. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports that, in Europe, most outbreaks this year struck seabird colonies, with only limited spread in poultry due to strict containment policies. Recent months saw a drop in wild waterfowl cases, but virus detections in mammals such as foxes have raised fresh vigilance.
In Asia, the impact is stark—Cambodia saw a surge with 11 human H5N1 cases in the first half of 2025, seven in June alone, mostly among rural populations exposed to sick backyard poultry, according to the World Health Organization. India, Bangladesh, and China also reported sporadic human infections, underscoring ongoing risk at the animal-human interface. Most human infections globally still follow direct animal contact, and no sustained human-to-human transmission has been confirmed. As the WHO notes, the present risk to the general public remains low, but for those working with poultry or livestock, the risk ranges from low to moderate depending on precautions.
North America, meanwhile, has witnessed a sharp uptick in H5N1 infections among dairy cattle, particularly in the United States. The CDC notes more than 70 human cases since the start of 2024, primarily among farm workers exposed to infected cattle or poultry. The country has reported its first H5N1-related fatality and is tracking virus spillovers into mammals like muskrats and ground squirrels, fueling concern about possible genetic shifts.
South America and Africa are grappling with bird die-offs and sporadic outbreaks in both wild and domestic birds. While fewer human cases have been documented, the threat to food security and livelihoods is real.
Globally, organizations like FAO and WHO are coordinating surveillance, rapid reporting, and control measures. The FAO is urging countries to strengthen border controls and share virus sequences in real time. International trade in poultry has been severely disrupted; countries with outbreaks face export bans, affecting millions of farmers and increasing pressure on supply chains.
On the vaccine front, progress is mixed. The United States and the European Union have ramped up trials of new H5 vaccines for both poultry and humans. Some vaccines show strong results in poultry, slashing outbreak sizes. For humans, several candidate vaccines are advancing, including mRNA platforms adapted from COVID-19 research, but none are widely available yet.
National approaches vary. Countries like the Netherlands and Japan have imposed strict culling and biosecurity on farms, minimizing spillover. The United States, by contrast, has faced difficulty containing outbreaks in large, interconnected agricultural regions. In Southeast Asia, focus remains on rapid detection, community awareness, and compensation for culling.
As we monitor evolving clusters and the potential for greater transmissibility, the message is clear—international collaboration remains vital.
Thank you for tuning in to H5N1 Global Scan. Come back next week for more insights. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for me, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.
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