A recent study published in Nature reveals major changes in the ecology and evolution of highly pathogenic avian H5 influenza viruses, including a shift in global distribution. The findings suggest that the epicentre of these viruses has extended beyond Asia to new regions including parts of Africa and Europe.
Highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus activity has intensified globally since 2021, infecting and killing increasing numbers of wild birds and poultry, as well as posing a risk to mammals (including humans). H5N1 emerged in China in 1996. The scale of H5 outbreaks in wild birds has escalated beyond Asia since 2014, but the origins of recent resurgences and the underlying evolution of these viruses has been unclear.
Dr. Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran from the University of Hong Kong and others examined the changing origins and trends of highly pathogenic avian H5 outbreaks using epidemiological data collected by the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health between 2005 and 2022, alongside the analysis of more than 10,000 whole viral genomes.
