Centre of deadly bird flu outbreaks shifts from Asia to Europe and Africa

Birds killed by avian flu in the Gambia. Researchers urged countries to increase surveillance to understand how the virus is changing. Photograph: Sacha Dench/Conservation Without Borders

The epicentre of deadly bird flu outbreaks has shifted from Asia to Europe and Africa, a new study has found.

For 25 years, bird flu viruses typically emerged from Asia, but major changes in the virus and its spread among wild birds mean the outbreaks are shifting. Research shows that while outbreaks in 2016 and 2017 started in China, two new H5 viruses emerged in 2020 in African poultry and in 2022 in European wild birds.