Europe faces the largest outbreak of bird flu ever

This was reported by the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, which conducts research in the field of animal welfare for the German government. Avian influenza is common throughout Europe. Since the beginning of October, 675 infections have been detected in wild birds. 534 cases were identified in poultry farms. The researchers say that “the end is not in sight yet.”

Israel

The alarm is currently being raised in Israel about the virus. More than 5,000 cranes have been killed in the north of the country. Hundreds of thousands of cranes fly over Israel every year on their journey to Africa. A small part of it remains in the country to spend the winter months there.

Israeli Climate Minister Tamara Zandberg described the tragedy as “the greatest damage to nature in the country’s history”. The Ministry of Health called on citizens to stay away from wild birds. They should also be very careful when buying poultry and eggs, and reheat them well when preparing them.

Danger to people

For humans, the chance of getting bird flu is very small, unless they come close to sick animals. But if contamination occurs, the virus can be dangerous. According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 863 known cases of people who contracted the flu between 2003 and 2021. More than half of them died. Most deaths occurred in Asia, in societies where people lived near animals.

There are currently no known cases of human-to-human transmission of the current avian influenza virus. However, scientists fear that sooner or later the virus will transform into the form that it will.