Monthly summary of sampled birds
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November 2024 - Download here
December 2024
1. OVERVIEW
SENTINEL Wild Birds aims to enhance the understanding of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus dynamics in wild bird populations by conducting active surveillance at key locations in and near Europe. These locations are divided into the following surveillance nodes: Node 1 Gulf of Finland (Finland, Estonia), Node 2 Southern Baltic Sea (Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland), Node 4 Eastern Black Sea (Georgia), Node 6 Lake Constance (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Node 7 Veneto Region (Italy), Node 8 Camargue (France), and Node 9 Gulf of Cadiz (Spain). This monthly summary provides an update on sampled wild birds as part of an early warning system to support wildlife management and disease prevention efforts. Data included in this report are based on samples collected in August to December 2024 and that previously have not been published.
2. RESULT
2.1 DATA COLLECTION
Since the last monthly report, test results have been submitted for 516 samples taken from 239 individual wild birds representing 21 species across six nodes in Europe (Table 1). Of the 516 collected samples, 223 were cloacal swabs, 217 tracheal/oropharyngeal swabs, 48 feathers, 11 choana swabs, 10 pooled organs, and 7 faeces. Of all samples, 21 (4.1 %) were positive for avian influenza of which 3 (0.6 %) were positive for HPAI (Figure 1; Table 2). All HPAI virus-positive samples were collected in Italy on 12th of November 2024.
The overall bird-level prevalence of avian influenza in these recently submitted samples was 7.5 %. The highest bird-level prevalence was found in Finland (38.9 %; Table 1), and the Common Goldeneye was the species with highest prevalence (37.5 %), however, all HPAI virus-positive samples were found in the Eurasian Teal (Table 1 & 2).
TABLE 1 Total number of individual wild birds sampled (including recaptures of same birds), as well as number of individuals tested positive for avian influenza in the respective country. The table includes samples from August to December 2024, previously never published.
FIGURE 1 Sample sites for the 239 wild birds sampled in six European countries, yielding 21 samples positive for avian influenza, including three samples positive for HPAI. The figure only includes samples from August to December 2024, previously never published.
TABLE 2 Total number of collected samples for the current reporting period, as well as number of samples positive for avian influenza, including HPAI, in the respective country.
FIGURE 2 Weekly summary of samples collected from week 34 to 49, 2024. In total, 1617 samples (negative samples in blue; positive samples in orange) have been collected at six nodes between August and December 2024, yielding 136 samples positive for avian influenza, including 22 samples positive for HPAI. The figures also include samples published in a previous report.
2.2 GENOMICS SUMMARY
Since the last report was published, there have been no new H5 influenza A genome sequences generated by the nodes. However, since the last report, there have been a number of new influenza A virus positive samples from Finland (Node 1, N=8, all negative for H5/H7 avian influenza) and France (Node 8, N=2). In addition, further molecular analysis of samples reported in the last report from Italy (Node 7) has been performed and identified additional subtypes: H6N2 (N=1), H6N4 (N=1), H9N3 (N=1) and a H9N2 (N=1). Interestingly, the H9N2 positive sample was also positive for H5 by PCR, which may be suggestive of a mixed infection.
3. CONCLUSION
Fewer samples were collected and included in this monthly report compared to the previous one. This can partly be explained by the fact that some countries have closed their bird-capturing activities for the season. Still, a greater diversity of species was covered, mostly due to that also Spain contributed with samples to this report. It should also be noted that the sampling period summarised in this report largely overlaps with that of the previous report.
All HPAI-positive samples were obtained from Eurasian Teals, sampled on the same date—November 12th, 2024—in the Veneto Region in northern Italy. Additionally, in Finland, seven samples from Common Goldeneyes were found positive, though not for HPAI.
In conclusion, the current results indicate no unusual patterns or significant deviations from expected trends.
