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Outbreaks of avian influenza in Poland in 2021

Nieuwsbericht | 27-01-2021 | 14:46

Tests of samples delivered on January 23 and 25 confirmed another 3 new outbreaks of avian influenza on farms in Poland. These are farms located in the following voivodeships: Pomeranian, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Wielkopolska.

  • The tenth outbreak was located on a commercial farm with 319,690 laying hens (Wielkopolska). 
  • The outbreak number nine was found on a commercial farm keeping 27,636 breeding hens. The farm is located in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province.
  • The eight outbreak was also found on the farm keeping laying hens. The farm is registered as an egg producer with 185,000 laying hens in a cage system. Infected animals are in the rearing period. The farm is located in the province  of Pomeranian. Together of these three outbreaks, half a million hens will be killed.
kalkoen op de vrije uitloop
Beeld: ©Pixabay

In addition, almost 100,000 turkeys were slaughtered this year, in 2021, due to outbreaks of avian influenza in five provinces in Poland.

  • The seventh HPAI outbreak in 2021 was found in the province of Kuyavian-Pomeranian on a farm keeping 34,109 reproductive hens, 42 weeks old.

  • The sixth outbreak occurred on a turkey farm with 13,558 birds at 22 and 19 weeks of age (slaughter maturity age). The farm is located in the province of West Pomeranian.
  • The fifth outbreak is a turkey farm with 30 796 heads - a farm located in the province of Kuyavian-Pomeranian.
  • HPAI outbreak number four is a farm with 15,600 fattening turkeys at 16.5 weeks of age. The farm is located Lubuskie province.
  • HPAI outbreak number three was found on the farm keeping 1,964 reproductive geese at the age of 6 months. The farm is located in Olsztyn poviat, Warmia-Masuria Province.
  • The second outbreak of 2021 kept 11,227 fattening turkeys. The farm is located in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
  • The first outbreak of avian influenza in 2021 was detected on a farm keeping 28 590 fattening turkeys aged 4.5 and 2.5 months. The farm is located Lubelskie province.
map of HPAI outbreaks in Poland
Beeld: ©Portal Handlowca
The map above presents the outbreaks of 2021 and 2020. The outbreaks of 2021 are marked in dark red. To enlarge the map click on the link below the article

The analysis of the entire genome of the H5N8 influenza virus detected in Poland confirms its high degree of similarity to the HPAI H5N8 virus currently found in Europe, which clearly indicates their common origin. The research also confirmed that the H5N8 virus does not show any increased infectivity and pathogenicity for humans, and in this respect it does not differ from other viruses currently detected in Europe.

The HPAI outbreaks of this and last year led to export restrictions for Polish poultry sector to countries such as: Belarus, Russian Federation, Republic of Kirgizstan, Republic of Cuba, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, HongKong, Namibia.