Chilean health authorities Wednesday confirmed the first case of a human patient suffering from avian flu. It is a 53-year-old man from the city of Arica in the northern part of the country, who has been reported to be stable.
World Health Organization (WHO) experts have expressed their concern after two cases of humans catching H5N1 avian flu were confirmed this week. During a virtual press conference Friday, WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Sylvie Briand said the situation was worrying.
Argentine authorities have declared a state of emergency after the first case of avian influenza was confirmed in wild birds in the northern province of Jujuy bordering Bolivia.
Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service Wednesday reported 1,030 bird deaths due to avian flu in northern regions of the country, at the same time Europe goes through the worst-ever outbreak of the disease.
Peru and Ecuador last week declared three-month health emergencies because of outbreaks of bird flu after a wave of cases led to tens of millions of poultry being slaughtered in Europe and the United States.
British health authorities Friday reported what seems to be the first fatal case in humans of the H5N1 variant of bird flu, which rarely infects humans, but when it does, it has a mortality rate of about 60%.
All 10,500 turkeys will be culled at a farm in North Yorkshire, in England after bird flu was confirmed at the site. The H5N8 strain of avian influenza was found at a turkey fattening premises near Northallerton on Saturday.
Dutch authorities have culled some 190,000 chickens after a highly contagious strain of bird flu broke out in at least two poultry farms, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday.
Germany has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus in a backyard in the southwestern part of the country, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday.
China reported an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu at a farm in Shaoyang city of the southern province of Hunan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Sunday.