Europe has been experiencing the avian flu epidemic for more than a year "most devastating" of its history, with around 50 million birds slaughtered in contaminated farms, the health authorities indicated on Tuesday.
Between October 2021 and September 2022, "Europe has been hit by the most devastating highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic"indicated a report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the EU reference laboratory.
In total, 37 European countries were affected, with more than 2,500 outbreaks detected throughout the continent.
The losses of chickens, ducks or turkeys on the affected farms are actually higher, since the balance of 50 million birds slaughtered does not include the preventive operations eventually carried out around the registered outbreaks, the health agency told AFP.
The epidemic has not receded since September, and infections increased as winter approached.
EFSA highlighted that "for the first time" there has been no separation between two epidemic waves, since the virus did not disappear in summer.
This autumn, the epidemic has been more virulent than last year at the same time, with 35% more farms infected.
Between September 10 and December 2, 2022, nearly 400 outbreaks were reported on farms in 18 European countries, led by France, the United Kingdom, and Hungary.
At the request of the European Commission, EFSA said it was examining "the availability of vaccines" to prevent highly pathogenic avian influenza in birds, and "studies eventual vaccination strategies".