Bird flu outbreak declared in Gabon after epidemiological surveillance

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has announced an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in Gabon for the first time since 2022 at a poultry market in the capital, Libreville.

The report submitted by Gabonese authorities to the Paris-based WOAH indicated that the virus was found in samples taken at the Mont Bouet poultry market in Libreville in an epidemiological surveillance for avian influenza.

The outbreak follows a similar trend in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.

In 2022, at least half a million chickens have been either killed by a bird flu outbreak in Burkina Faso or culled to prevent the virus from spreading.

Over 1.3 million boxes of eggs were also destroyed to keep the virus in check.

On the global stage, the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed or caused the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry in recent years and has increasingly been spreading to mammals, including cows in the United States.

The WHOA says avian influenza has had a staggering toll since 2005, with over 500 million birds lost to the disease worldwide.

The body added that the devastating impact extends beyond domestic and wild birds, threatening livelihoods, food security, and public health.

Meanwhile, health authorities have been urged to outline numerous measures to address the virus, including monitoring areas where wild birds gather for potential cases and capturing and testing sick or dead birds for the virus.