Avian influenza

In response to a sheep pox outbreak that has led to 146 cases and the culling of 28,109 animals, the Rural Development and Food Ministry has imposed strict movement restrictions on sheep and goats until November 8.

The main zoo in North Macedonia's capital Skopje was closed Saturday after authorities confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu.

According to a press statement, the flu was detected in a goose that died in a pond.

"Laboratory results confirmed a case of the presence of a pathogenic strain of the Avian influenza H5N1 virus," the statement said.

Bulgaria reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza among poultry, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has said, as Europe faces a seasonal upturn in the deadly disease.

As the WHO European Region enters its fifth winter since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, emphasized that while the world is now better equipped with tools and knowledge, caution remains essential.

Türkiye faces an escalating risk of a surge in tropical diseases due to a significant rise in temperatures and disruptions in climatic patterns in the country, experts have told daily Hürriyet.

Climate change is poised to accelerate the transmission rates of infectious diseases, potentially triggering new outbreaks on a global scale.

The National Public Health Organization (EODY) on Thursday said that it has developed an action plan for bird flu (H5N1) in the event that it spreads to humans.

In the past two years, there has been an alarming increase in cases of avian influenza, heightening concerns about possible transmission to humans, the EODC said in an update.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning regarding the spread of bird flu (H5N1) to various species, including humans, expressing deep concern over its impact and potential consequences, according to reports from AFP.

The World Health Organization voiced alarm Thursday at the growing spread of H5N1 bird flu to new species, including humans, who face an "extraordinarily high" mortality rate.

"This remains I think an enormous concern," the U.N. health agency's chief scientist Jeremy Farrar told reporters in Geneva.

Given that humans do not have immune defenses against bird flu viruses the emergence of a virus capable of infecting & spreading rapidly among the population poses the risk of a pandemic