The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, is a concern for governments and the poultry industry due to the devastation it can cause to flocks, its impact on food prices and a risk of a new pandemic.

WHY IT MATTERS: Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been devastating to poultry farms and wild birds around the world, and has occaisonally hopped to other species like dairy cattle.

Concerns over vaccination masking the spread of the virus and jeopardizing exports have led major poultry producers worldwide to largely resist the strategy.

The UK trials, expected to span 24 weeks, aim to assess the effectiveness of authorized vaccines in field conditions and evaluate how surveillance mechanisms can protect trade, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said in a statement.

Bird flu outbreaks have cost Britain’s government and the poultry industry up to 174 million pounds (C$316.8 million) per year, DEFRA said.

Turkeys were selected for the trials due to their high susceptibility to the virus, with outbreaks often causing significant mortality rates.

France has been vaccinating farm ducks against bird flu since 2023, making it the first major poultry exporter to do so nationwide. It has credited the policy with curbing the disease.

The Netherlands and the United States are also running vaccine trials, with the U.S. assessing how any use of vaccination could affect poultry exports.

— Reporting by Nigel Hunt and Sybille de La Hamaide

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Universal Ostrich Farms was originally charged with the penalty for failing to follow quarantine requirements under the Health of Animals Regulations.

The fine was upheld by the Canada Agriculture Review Tribunal in December but overturned Feb. 6 due to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) failure to properly deliver the quarantine notice in person.

Universal Ostrich Farms was at the centre of a months-long conflict between government agents and protesters, after positive H5N1 tests resulted in a CFIA cull order of the flock of more than 300 birds.

According to the Feb. 6 tribunal decision, which Universal Ostrich Farms posted to social media, the farm challenged the fine “on a procedural basis by asserting they were not properly served with the quarantine notice that they have been penalized for breaching.”

It called the CIA’s failure to personally deliver the order “fatal to its case” and said the agency did not prove any exceptional circumstances justifying it.

In a post to the Universal Ostrich Farms Facebook group, Katie Pasitney, daughter of the farm’s owners who has also been at the forefront of the cause, said the farm “welcomes the clarity provided by the Tribunal and hopes the decision contributes to improved transparency, consistency, and confidence in regulatory processes across Canada’s agricultural sector.”

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The CFIA also estimated that 17.21 million birds have been affected by avian influenza since December 2021.

• Alberta’s chief provincial veterinarian reported last month that a dog in the central part of the province died from bird flu in November 2025, after the animal ingested an infected snow goose. The 10-year-old goldendoodle also had an immune disease, which may have contributed to its death. It was the second canine death from bird flu reported in Canada since another dog died in Ontario in 2023.
  
• The United States Department of Agriculture reported on Dec. 19 that a case of bird flu in a Wisconsin dairy herd marked a new spillover event from wildlife to cattle. The virus, identified as H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1., was confirmed through whole genome sequencing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories on Dec. 17. Two other spillovers were detected in Nevada and Arizona in 2025.
  
• The European Food Safety Authority in its quarterly report released on Dec. 11 said that between Sept. 6 and Nov. 28, 2025, 2,896 bird flu infections were reported in 29 European countries, with 442 in poultry and 2,454 in wild birds. The number of wild birds infected reached was at its largest since 2016, while poultry infections remained steady compared to last year.
  
• Israel reported its first bird flu case in a year at a farm in the north of the country, reported the World Organization for Animal Health on Jan. 6. Ninety birds died in a flock of 2,000 ducks. The remaining birds were culled out of precaution.
  
• The WOAH also reported on Jan. 5 that 11 outbreaks were detected in the state of Kerala in southern India last month. More than 54,000 birds died from the virus, while another 30,000 birds were culled. They were the first outbreaks reported among poultry since May.
  
• A study published in the journal Science earlier this month found that bird flu can resist fever defences in mice, which means that unlike cold and flu viruses, bird flu could further replicate in an already infected person. However, researchers warned that while the virus could make humans sicker, it does not increase the chances of a human pandemic.​

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The virus, identified as H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1., was confirmed through whole genome sequencing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories on December 17, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a statement.

It said most detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in U.S. dairy herds have resulted from movements linked to an original spillover event that occurred in Texas in late 2023, involving the B3.13 strain.

Earlier this year, two isolated spillovers were detected in Nevada and Arizona, involving the D1.1 strain.

The Wisconsin case, detected under USDA’s National Milk Testing Strategy, has not led to additional herd infections, APHIS said.

USDA said the findings do not pose a risk to consumer health or the commercial milk supply, as pasteurization kills the virus and milk from affected animals is diverted or destroyed.

It added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to consider the risk to the public to be low.

USDA urged dairy producers to maintain strict biosecurity and report any livestock showing clinical signs or unusual wildlife deaths.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators last week urged the administration of President Donald Trump to finalize a science-based plan for developing a bird flu vaccine for livestock, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

— Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in June that it was developing a potential poultry vaccination plan, but has not released further details.

WHY IT MATTERS: More than 180 million chickens, turkeys and other poultry have been killed in the U.S. due to an outbreak of bird flu that began in 2022. Canadian farmers have also faced devastating culls.

The USDA should take “renewed action” to fight bird flu as infections rise during the winter months, said 23 U.S. senators in a letter sent on Wednesday to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and reported first by Reuters.

“Any finalized vaccine strategy must take into account feedback from animal health stakeholders, industry experts, and be grounded in sound science,” said the letter, led by Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Republican U.S. Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota.

Other signatories to the letter include Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and several Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Funds pledged for vaccine, therapeutics research

In March, the USDA pledged $100 million to research vaccines and therapeutics for egg-laying chickens as part of a broader strategy to fight bird flu, which had driven egg prices to record highs.

The agency said in June it had received 417 proposals for the funds, but has not announced further details.

The Trump administration in May canceled a $700 million contract with Moderna to develop a human bird flu vaccine. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has cut other funding for vaccine research and scrapped long-held federal vaccine guidance.

The poultry industry is divided on vaccination because of the potential to hurt exports. The senators urged Rollins in their letter to “work closely with trading partners and impacted producers to fully assess and manage any potential trade implications” of a vaccine plan.

The USDA told Reuters in late November that the agency had not shared a plan for poultry vaccination with trading partners.

— Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago

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WHY IT MATTERS: Highly pathogenic avian influenza has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds in recent years — including among many Canadian farms — disrupting food supplies and increasing prices.

Outbreaks typically peak in autumn as migratory birds head south, but this season saw earlier cases, killing many wild birds, mainly common cranes along the German, French, and Spanish routes as well as a large number of waterfowl.

Between September 6 and November 28, 2,896 highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 virus detections – mostly H5N1 – were reported in domestic birds in 29 countries in Europe, with 442 in poultry and 2,454 in wild birds, EFSA said in a report.

“We are currently seeing an unprecedented sharp increase in the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus detections, mostly in wild birds,” Lisa Kohnle, scientific officer at EFSA, told Reuters.

Poultry outbreak numbers were similar to previous years but five times higher than in 2023, and almost double those of 2021. Turkeys were the most affected.

“What is interesting for poultry is that in previous years those epidemics were characterised by a lot of farm-to-farm spread,” Kohnle said. “This year it seems we mostly have introduction from wild birds”.

For humans, bird flu infected 19 people in four countries (Cambodia, China, Mexico and the U.S.), killing one in Cambodia and one in the U.S, EFSA said. All cases involved exposure to poultry or poultry environments.

Bird flu outbreaks in mammals were fewer than in 2022 and 2023, but remain a concern due to potential mutations that would make it transmissible between humans.

Kohnle said detections were likely to keep rising, although high wild bird mortality could prompt tighter farm controls and help slow the virus’s spread.

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The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds in the past few years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices. Human infections remain rare.

While outbreaks typically spike in the northern hemisphere autumn as migratory birds fly south, they appeared earlier and in greater numbers in Europe and the U.S., affecting both wild birds and poultry.

More outbreaks than previous seasons

In the U.S., 107 outbreaks were reported by November 18, nearly four times last year’s total. Minnesota, the country’s largest turkey producing state, confirmed its first case two months earlier than in 2022.

“It’s certainly more than we’ve seen over the last few winter-fall migratory bird seasons,” said Tim Boring, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Michigan, another large turkey state.

“I think it’s part of this ongoing pattern… we’re still well within this current outbreak that’s lasted several years now,” he said.

The U.S. has already culled about 8 million birds since September, a slight increase from last year, government data showed.

Canada, which has a smaller poultry flock than the U.S., has also culled nearly 8 million birds. Canadian Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said the bird flu situation was getting “very worrisome”.

“Wild birds seem to be carrying more of this disease. So it’s scary in some ways,” he told Reuters.

The World Organization for Animal Health said the early outbreaks were concerning but not alarming.

“There should not be a public health alarm. An increase in number of cases could have different explanations. What we need to observe is the actual virus itself,” said Gregorio Torres, head of WOAH’s scientific department.

Different wild birds affected

In Europe, the situation was also more severe than last year, with Germany recording the highest number of outbreaks in three years.

Between early September and mid-November, 1,443 cases of bird flu were detected in wild birds in 26 European countries – a fourfold increase compared with the same period in 2024 and the highest since 2016, the European food safety agency EFSA said.

“What’s new this season? It’s not exactly the same birds that are being affected. This time, we’ve seen contamination occur earlier among wild birds, and now we’re starting to detect cases that are spreading to farmed birds,” French health security agency ANSES Deputy Director General Gilles Salvat told reporters on Thursday.

Salvat pointed to common cranes – which typically migrate earlier than waterfowl species such as ducks, geese and swans – as a major factor behind the outbreak, which spread from northeast to southwest Europe, with high fatalities in Germany and France.

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

The situation was more normal in most of Asia except for Cambodia, which has seen severe bird flu outbreaks, while Japan reported its first case on October 22 – five days later than last year. About 1.65 million birds have been culled so far in Japan.

— Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago, Leah Douglas in Washington, Ed White in Winnipeg, Peter Hobson in Canberra, Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Emma Pinedo in Madrid, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo.

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The highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in the past few years, disrupting food supplies and driving up prices, though human infections remain rare.

“What we fear is the virus adapting to mammals, and particularly to humans, becoming capable of human-to-human transmission, and that virus would be a pandemic virus,” Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti, medical director at the Institut Pasteur’s respiratory infections centre, told Reuters.

The Institut Pasteur was among the first European labs to develop and share COVID-19 detection tests, making protocols available to the World Health Organization and labs worldwide.

No antibodies against H5 bird flu

People have antibodies against common H1 and H3 seasonal flu, but none against the H5 bird flu affecting birds and mammals, like they had none against COVID-19, she said.

And unlike COVID-19, which mainly affects vulnerable people, flu viruses can also kill healthy individuals, including children, Rameix-Welti said.

“A bird flu pandemic would probably be quite severe, potentially even more severe than the pandemic we experienced,” she said in her Paris laboratory.

There have been many cases of people infected by H5 bird flu viruses in the past, including the H5N1 currently circulating among poultry and dairy cows in the U.S., but these were often in close contact with infected animals. A first ever human case of H5N5 appeared in the U.S. state of Washington this month. The man, who had underlying conditions, died last week.

In its latest report on bird flu, the WHO said there had been nearly 1,000 outbreaks in humans between 2003 and 2025 – mainly in Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam, of which 48 per cent had died.

Human pandemic risk still low

However, the risk of a human pandemic developing remains low, Gregorio Torres, head of the Science Department at the World Organization for Animal Health, told Reuters.

“We need to be prepared to respond early enough. But for the time being, you can happily walk in the forest, eat chicken and eggs and enjoy your life. The pandemic risk is a possibility. But in terms of probability, it’s still very low,” he said.

Rameix-Welti also said that if bird flu was to mutate to be able to be transmitted between humans, the world was better prepared than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The positive point with flu, compared to COVID, is we have specific preventative measures in place. We have vaccine candidates ready and know how to manufacture a vaccine quickly,” she said.

“We also have stocks of specific antivirals, that, in principle, would be effective against this avian influenza virus,” she added.

— Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Lucien Libert

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The deceased, a resident of Grays Harbor County, was an older adult with underlying health conditions, the department said in a statement released late on Friday, adding the person owned a backyard flock of mixed domestic birds.

WHY IT MATTERS: Avian influenza has been devastating to Canadian poultry farmers and has led to human illness and death—though recent human cases have been the H5N1 strain.

The department found the avian flu in the flock’s environment, pointing to domestic poultry or wild birds as the likely source of exposure.

It said that the risk to the general public remains low, and no other individuals involved in the case have tested positive for avian influenza, commonly called bird flu.

“Public health officials will continue to monitor anyone who was in close contact with the patient for symptoms,” the department said, adding: “There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people.”

Those who had exposure to the backyard flock and its environment were also being monitored for potential symptoms, the department said.

— Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru.

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In a recent and much publicized case, infected birds at a Canadian ostrich farm became a global controversy that drove immense traffic to news websites.

“This is a good example of how almost any event can be made into a political wedge issue,” said Timothy Caulfield, a University of Alberta professor and author of numerous books about scientific communication.

“And the discourse around the topic — on social media, in the popular press and by online influencers — leads to further distrust of scientific institutions.”

For much of 2025, about 300 ostriches at a British Columbia farm became the stars of dramatic conflict between the institution determined to cull the flock and the activists, celebrities and billionaires who tried to save the ostriches.

The saga began nearly a year ago, after it was reported that ostriches had died on the farm and the likely cause was H5N1, a deadly form of avian flu.

Shortly after, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered that the remainder of the flock be culled to prevent the further spread of H5N1.

That triggered a months-long legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. On Nov. 7 the court dismissed an appeal from the ostriches’ owner to prevent the cull. The next day, marksmen representing the CFIA killed all the ostriches on the farm.

That prompted strong reactions in Canada and the United States:

• An American billionaire, John Catsimatidis, held a press conference where he suggested the U.S. government would conduct an investigation into the CFIA and what it did to the ostriches.

• Vandals in Kelowna, B.C., threw eggs at and smeared feces on the local CFIA office.

The highly charged reactions speak to the power of social media and online influencers and how government agencies such as the CFIA struggle to tell their side of the story, said Heidi Tworek, a social scientist at the University of British Columbia.

The powerful backlash from a vocal minority could be a hangover from COVID-19 and public distrust of scientists that unfolded during the pandemic.

“Part of what we’re seeing … in this case were some dynamics we saw in the pandemic,” Tworek said.

One major consequence from the pandemic was a loss of trust in vaccines. Fewer parents are now vaccinating their children against diseases such as measles, prompting a rise in cases and Canada eventually losing its “measles free” status.

A similar fallout might happen because of the ostriches.

More livestock farmers may refuse to comply with CFIA orders because they don’t agree with the agency’s science or its policy of “stamping out” diseases by culling a herd or a flock.

What’s obvious from the ostrich saga is that Canadians know little or nothing about the CFIA and its role, Tworek said.

“In a moment like this, the lack of knowledge about it (the CFIA) opens up a broad space of many interpretations of what it’s doing and why it’s doing (it),” Tworek said.

Fighting back against misinformation is difficult and getting harder, thanks to fake videos and generative AI.

However, organizations such as the CFIA can get ready for the next crisis by producing basic information about their role and the science of food and animal safety, Tworek said.

“What do you do before hand, so you have very clear explanations on your website about what you do, which means explanations that make sense to a layperson.”

It’s a safe bet that Canada will have another disease outbreak in a herd of livestock sometime in the future. Therefore, the livestock industry needs to be ready.

“When there is some sort of epidemic … some sort of politicization is going to happen. Pinpointing the exact instance where it’s going to happen, that’s where it gets difficult.”

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