Bird Flu: New Outbreaks but an Old Problem for Intensive European Poultry

Bird flu or avian influenza continues to cause problems at European level, with new outbreaks of disease being reported, including those identified in January 2020 in Romania. It was first identified in the 1900s in Italy, but was later found worldwide. An avian influenza virus, H5N1, was identified in 1997 in Asia and created worldwide panic, talking about the imminence of a major epidemic. In October 2005, the H5N1 virus also arrived in Romania, being identified in birds from Ceamurlia de Jos, Tulcea County. Romania is the first European country where the presence of this virus has been officially confirmed. Avian influenza has attracted the attention of the international community over the years, with outbreaks in the poultry industry or livelihoods having serious consequences on both livelihoods and international trade in many countries. Apart from Romania, avian influenza is still evolving in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Ukraine and Northern Ireland. Preventing the occurrence and combating avian influenza can only be achieved through international cooperation and collaboration, in order to know at any time the epidemiological situation and the pathogenic capacity of the etiological agent. Continuous surveillance of avian influenza virus in wild birds is very important, as it provides us with an "early warning" about the introduction of the virus into new regions, and can conduct appropriate risk assessment studies. It is also important to understand the behavior of wild birds, possibly the transmission of the virus between wild and domestic birds, the age categories of the frequently affected wild birds, the migration routes. At the same time, it is very difficult to prevent the occurrence of avian influenza in domestic birds due to the fact that a strategy for controlling wild birds cannot be established, the only solution to prevent the occurrence of the disease being the maximum limitation of contact between domestic and wild birds.