During November, the World Organization of Animal Health received reports of 129 outbreaks of HPAI in commercial farms. The leading nations reporting outbreaks included France (46), Hungary (45), Italy (20) and predictably, Russia owning up to only one. Of concern were 170 reports in free-living birds with France, Germany, and Belgium reporting double-digit prevalence.
It is emphasized that the number of isolations from wild birds is a function of surveillance that varies among nations.
The updated Outbreak Assessment #37, distributed by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (analogous to the USDA) noted an increase in incident cases over the period November 7th through December 6th, 2022 with implications for commercial poultry. Since October 2022, the United Kingdom has reported 138 isolations of H5N1 HPAI in commercial farms in England with 18 cases distributed among Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A disconcerting note was isolation of H5N1 from common murres. (Uria aalge) from Greenland. It is possible that North America will experience a repeat of the 2021-2022 situation with westbound transmission of avian influenza by migrating birds that resulted in emergence of H5N1 HPAI in the maritime provinces of Canada and then extending southward along the Atlantic Flyway as far as Florida.