This is H5N1 Global Scan: Avian Flu Worldwide, your three-minute look at the international impact of the ongoing H5N1 crisis, brought to you by Quiet Please.

As 2025 nears its end, the world is still battling the most far-reaching H5N1 avian flu outbreak on record. Covering nearly every continent—excluding only Australia, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control—this virus has transformed from a poultry problem into a cross-species global concern, driven by the highly pathogenic clade 2.3.4.4b variant. In late 2023, even Antarctica detected H5N1 for the first time, threatening local wildlife never before exposed.

Let’s break it down by continent. In North America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states the United States has seen at least 70 human cases since 2024, many tied to exposure in commercial dairy and poultry operations. Canada and Mexico have also reported recent cases, including fatal outcomes in children, as confirmed by the Pan American Health Organization. South America, particularly along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, faced devastating impacts. According to news agencies and the World Organization for Animal Health, the virus has wiped out hundreds of thousands of wild birds and tens of thousands of marine mammals, with some seal populations suffering catastrophic breeding failures.

Across Europe, from the UK to Eastern bloc countries, avian flu outbreaks continue both in wild and domestic birds, and for the first time, there is sporadic detection in domestic mammals, as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control highlights. Poultry farming restrictions and mass culling have caused egg shortages and disrupted local economies. In Africa and Asia, outbreaks in poultry keep recurring, and Southeast Asia has seen unique reassortment events, creating new viral combinations that complicate control efforts. Reports from Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and India confirm ongoing human cases, though most are linked to close animal contact and not sustained human-to-human transmission.

Global coordination remains urgent. The World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization repeatedly stress the need for transparent reporting, rapid diagnostics, and cross-border data sharing. In 2025, both agencies renewed calls for international collaboration, emphasizing biosecurity and early warning systems. Efforts have focused on protecting vulnerable farming regions and migratory bird flyways where the virus regularly spills over between wild and domestic populations.

Research is accelerating worldwide. According to Johns Hopkins and several WHO bulletins, major international consortia are testing new generation vaccines targeting the dominant clade. While several poultry vaccines are being distributed, especially in Europe and China, human vaccine candidates remain limited and are generally reserved for high-risk workers. Authorities warn that mutations or further adaptation to mammals could drive the next pandemic threat.

National responses vary. The United States and United Kingdom have prioritized surveillance and early culling, while countries like China employ wider use of animal vaccines. Trade bans, border controls, and restrictions on poultry exports are now common, especially after H5N1 detections in exported products led to rapid suspensions in global markets, severely impacting agricultural economies.

Cross-border coordination and international policy will be critical in the year ahead as H5N1 continues to evolve and surprise even seasoned experts.

Thank you for tuning into H5N1 Global Scan. For more updates on this and other global health stories, join us next week. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more from me, check out QuietPlease dot AI.

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