An editorial to the first of two themed issues of Bird Study, looking at the impact of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza on wild birds since summer 2021.
Citation
Atkinson, P.W. & Baillie, S.R. 2025. Jumping species and seasons – the spread and impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza on seabirds and waterbirds. Bird Study 71: 289–292. doi:10.1080/00063657.2025.2471626
Overview
In the winter of 2020/21, during one of the worst outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry, it could not be foreseen that the deaths of small numbers of wild birds in north-west Europe from the virus H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b would be the precursor to the worst HPAI-related mortality recorded in wild birds.
