The European Food Safety Agency recorded close to 2,500 outbreaks of H5N1 strain Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Europe during the current season, extending from November 2021 to the present.  Over 48 million poultry of various species have been depopulated.  Concurrently, over 3,500 cases of Avian Influenza were recorded in free-living birds.

HPAI has affected both poultry and wild bird populations, extending from the Atlantic coast of France eastward to Ukraine and from the Arctic Circle southward to the Mediterranean coast.

Ongoing reports of HPAI extended through summer.  Between mid-June and early September, 788 detections were reported in 16 EU Nations and the United Kingdom, predominantly in wild birds but with 56 outbreaks in poultry.  Extensive mortality has occurred among seabirds in breeding colonies, affecting populations in Germany, France and the U.K.