UK confirms case of bird flu in poultry

UK – A new case of H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in West Yorkshire, northern England, prompting immediate containment measures.

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced on Wednesday that all birds at the affected site will be culled to stop the virus from spreading.

This development adds to a series of recent outbreaks reported in other parts of the world, where the disease has significantly disrupted poultry production.

In the United States, a resurgence of the virus was detected in April, with the latest case affecting a commercial egg farm in Darke County, Ohio.

This marks the first confirmed outbreak in the US since March and brings the total number of infected birds in 2025 to approximately 30.6 million, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

The outbreaks have now affected poultry operations across nine states including Arizona, California, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

So far, 41 commercial table egg layer facilities have reported infections, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Of the total birds culled, around 19.6 million were from conventional cage systems, 11 million were raised in cage-free environments, and approximately 26,000 came from organic farms.

The impact is significant, with the current losses representing around 10.8% of both the caged and cage-free non-organic bird populations recorded at the start of the year.

Between January and March, the number of hens in caged systems dropped by 12.5%, while cage-free flocks saw a 4.4% increase and organic operations grew by 0.3%.

Trade fallout from Brazil outbreak

Meanwhile, China has imposed a complete ban on poultry imports from Brazil following the detection of bird flu in a commercial facility.

The General Administration of Customs of China announced on May 29 that it had halted all direct and indirect poultry imports from Brazil, two weeks after it had already suspended import applications.

Any shipments arriving in China from Brazil will now be returned or destroyed, according to the customs notice.

Additionally, any waste material of animal or plant origin from Brazilian ships arriving at Chinese ports must be inspected and cannot be discarded without proper authorization.

Brazil had reported the outbreak on May 16, after identifying avian flu at a farm in Montenegro, located in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

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