Avian Influenza Epidemic: H5N1 Variant at Mink Farm in Galicia, Spain Reported for the First Time

Avian influenza is a highly pathogenic disease caused by infection from avian influenza Type A viruses.

The bird flu has made several resurgences over the years.

However, the most recent one was reportedly after many months of low prevalence during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19).

Over the past year, related cases have been reported worldwide amid a global bird flu outbreak.

In the United States, avian flu infections have affected several dozen of states, targeting commercial, poultry, and even wild birds.

The ongoing outbreak also resulted in the decrease of US egg supplies and the skyrocketing of its prices in the past several months since 2022.

The virus may be targeting birds now but zoonotic or animal to human transmissions have occurred in the past.

However, the first known avian influenza epidemic was recently reported in a mink farm in Galicia, Spain.

This is also the first reported case of a bird flu zoonosis or animal to animal transmission on minks, which are carnivorous mammals.

Various mutations of the avian virus has also infected pigs before, resulting on the coinage of the notorious swine flu.

While other cases have been recorded in France, the viral spread of the pathogenic viruses in Spain could set the trend for the spread of the virus across Europe and even across surrounding regions or continents.

The last bird flu outbreak occurred between 2014 and 2015.

Previous cases on humans resulted from asymptomatic, mild illness, and even death.

Mink Farm Bird Flu Outbreak

Researchers published a report in the journal Eurosurveillance, describing an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) detected in farmed minks in Europe, primarily which occurred in the Galicia region located in northwest Spain in October 2022.

The report presented an in-depth description of the clinical, genetic, and epidemiological investigations of the outbreak affecting a single farm and discussed its public health repercussions.

Scientists from various institutions, including the Central Veterinary Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Madrid, Spain, determined the initial signs of the infection through the sudden increased deaths in the farm's mink population.

In particular, the HPAI infection was detected in an American mink (Neovision vison) farm in the municipality of Carral, situated in the province of A Coruna of the said Spanish region.

The report suggested an increased mortality rate of 0.77%, which is far from the expected rate of only 0.2% to 0.3%, as cited by the News Medical website.

Current Situation

As of January 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the latest avian influenza outbreak has infected a total number of 5,821 wild birds, 57.8 million poultry, and 1 human.

The CDC added that health authorities are continuing to monitor the US and the rest of the of the world not only from seasonal influenza but also from novel influenza Type A viruses, which could trigger a pandemic.

This is based on the fact that influenza viruses are constantly changing, the US health body said.