Map. Officially reported HPAI outbreaks (H5, H5N1, H5N2, H7 and H7N6 subtypes) in sub-Saharan Africa, by onset date (1 October 2023 to date)

Note: Map A shows confirmed HPAI events observed from 1 October to 9 May 2024 (current wave).
Map B shows HPAI events observed from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2023 (previous wave).

For a summary of H5N1, H5N6, and H5N8 HPAI events reported in sub-Saharan African countries in previous waves (i.e. before 1 October 2023) please contact EMPRES-Animal Health

FAO's support to countries or by country

Global level

• The FAO Virtual Learning Centers have launched a new self-paced virtual learning course on avian influenza (AI). The course aims to raise awareness of AI and to develop capacity on its detection and prevention. It is available here. This is an introductory course, designed for a range of stakeholders with an interest in AI. It is intended to be useful for veterinarians, veterinary paraprofessionals and others working in the poultry industries. There are six short modules, each of approximately fifteen to twenty minutes duration. You can study these at a time and place to suit you and use them as a ready-reference resource as needed. The course supports multiple platforms and can be studied on a smartphone, as well as on a computer or a tablet device.
• OFFLU (WOAH/FAO network of expertise on animal influenza) has launched a webpage for collection of relevant links on link.
• On 21 December 2023 OFFLU released its statement "Continued expansion of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5 in wildlife in South America and incursion into the Antarctic region”. [link]

Regional level

• FAO Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Disease Control (ECTAD) for West and Central Africa (WCA) monitors suspected HPAI outbreaks in several countries in the region and provides various assistance, including laboratory reagents and consumables, as well as transport of specimens to the reference laboratory Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe-Italy) for confirmation and sequencing.
• In West Africa, FAO ECTAD WCA has supported poultry value chain studies and the development of biosecurity manuals for poultry farms and live bird markets in Togo and Benin under the USAID funded project “Emergency assistance for prevention and control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in selected Countries in Africa”.
• FAO ECTAD WCA held a Regional Training of Surveillance Evaluation Tool (SET) Evaluators in West and Central Africa in Abidjan (Cote D’Ivoire) from 25 to 29 March 2024.
• FAO ECTAD regional offices in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) supports procurement of reagents (primers, probes, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kits, extraction kits) and consumables in support of timely diagnostic testing and to enhance preparedness in Ethiopia, Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda through USAID funded GHSA programme.
• ECTAD ESA is supporting Kenya, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe enhance biosecurity in poultry farms which contributes to minimising HPAI incursion. Poultry value chain risk assessment along the entire poultry value chain is planned in 10 countries namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia as a part of ECTAD's ongoing support for HPAI risk mitigation/management.
• FAO ECTAD ESA and WCA have been coordinating annual Proficiency testing schemes supported by USAID for AIV diagnosis at national and sub-national level since 2008, through Letter of Agreement signed between FAO and WOAH reference laboratory (IZSVe- Italy) prepared by ECTAD HQ.

National level

Benin:

• A poultry value chain study was conducted, resulting in the development of a biosafety manual aimed at enhancing biosafety measures in poultry farms and live bird markets. Reports titled "Study of Poultry Value Chains and Risk Factors for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Benin" have been finalized.
• A training of trainers on biosecurity measures and best practices for managing poultry farms was conducted, using both the Biosecurity Manual for Commercial Poultry Farms and the Biosecurity Manual for Live Poultry Markets in Benin.
• FAO ECTAD supported Benin by providing reagents, disinfectants, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Burkina Faso:

• Burkina Faso released an alert for poultry farmers regarding HPAI outbreak in Ouagadougou on 6 March 2024. FAO is providing supports with laboratory reagents, consumables, PPE, as well as transport of samples to the reference laboratory (IZSVe) for confirmation and sequencing.
• As part of the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project TCP/BKF/3901, FAO is supporting the strengthening of capacities to combat HPAI as well as the preparation for the implementation of recovery mechanisms for the poultry industry. The project has trained 175 people in epidemiological surveillance of HPAI; and to develop training modules on good poultry farming practices, hygiene and biosecurity measures on farms with the training of 46 trainers; the trainers raised awareness among 300 model poultry breeders from 10 regions of Burkina. The project also made it possible to train 30 communicators and journalists from the written and audiovisual press on HPAI.
• Under the FAO TCP project on HPAI, the General Directorate of Veterinary Services conducted active surveillance around the outbreak and developed eight tools through a Letter of Agreement. These include: Case Definition of HPAI, HPAI Investigation Form, HPAI Notification Form, HPAI Outbreak Information/Management Form, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for sampling and diagnosis in case of suspected HPAI, SOP on communication during an HPAI crisis, SOP on the donning/doffing PPE, SOP on biosecurity measures in poultry farms in case of suspected HPAI.

Côte d’Ivoire:

• FAO ECTAD Côte d'Ivoire helped the government to carry out surveys through the acquisition of field equipment and to strengthen the capacities of the national laboratory for diagnosis of diseases such as HPAI. Standard operating procedures for investigating events in poultry have been revised, including outbreak investigation sheets.

Democratic Republic of the Congo:

• Following the discovery of avian influenza in South Africa and taking into account trade between South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the veterinary services have been put on alert. FAO, through ECTAD, had already pre-positioned Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other sampling equipment in high-risk provinces. Apart from strengthening national laboratories, other measures have also been taken to help the government send samples to international reference laboratories for confirmatory testing and molecular characterization if necessary.

Ethiopia:

• As part of the government's strategic initiative known as "Yelemat Turufat," the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a comprehensive National Biosecurity Management Guideline for Poultry Farms in January 2024. This guideline aims to establish a standardized framework of biosecurity practices that are applicable to all poultry producers and stakeholders involved in the industry. The finalization of the guideline is underway, and it will serve as a valuable resource to provide guidance and support to poultry farm owners in implementing effective biosecurity measures.
• Voluntary producers (host farms) have been identified from four districts, namely Sebeta, Bishoftu, Bahir Dar, and Debre Birhan, to enroll in the Broiler Farmer Field School programme. This programme aims to mitigate AMR and generate data for action in agrifood systems using a One Health Approach. FAO ECTAD, in collaboration with the Animal Health Institute and local animal health practitioners, is conducting a baseline assessment on the broiler farms. This assessment seeks to evaluate the farm premises' biosecurity, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial usage statuses, as well as gather essential farm economic data.

Gambia:

• A train-the-trainers workshop on improving biosecurity on poultry farms was organized, training 37 poultry value chain stakeholders and decision-makers. A Good Emergency Management Practices (GEMP) training mission trained 52 participants from different sectors in animal health emergency management, based on the FAO GEMP manual.

Ghana:

• Community event-based surveillance is reinforced with support of the FAO Event Mobile Application (EMA-i).

Guinea:

• Over the coming months, FAO plans to support the training of actors in the value chain of the poultry sector on biosecurity, the training of veterinary service agents from very high- and high-risk prefectures on good management practices, emergencies, carrying out local investigative surveys and active surveillance in the field, and supervision missions of field investigations; because the disease is still far from being controlled.
• FAO ECTAD supports Guinea by providing reagents, disinfectants and PPE.

Kenya:

• FAO is supporting Kenya Animal Bio-Surveillance (KABS) disease reporting platform roll-out for syndromic surveillance and the refresher trainings.

Liberia:

• The Central Veterinary Laboratory has participated in EQA (Proficiency testing) for HPAI organized by the WOAH/FAO International Reference Laboratory for Animal influenza and Newcastle Disease (APHA) with the support of FAO.
• The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with FAO plans to conduct active surveillance for Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (LPAI)/HPAI in five high risk counties (Montserrado, Nimba, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Grand Bassa) in May 2024.

Mali:

• FAO ECTAD Mali conducted a study on biosecurity in poultry, dairy and pig farms to assess best practices and recommend actions to improve biosecurity measures on farms. Following the recommendations from the study, training is planned for stakeholders (women and young people) working in poultry, dairy and pig farms, which will take place in 2023 and 2024.

Niger:

• The outbreak on a family farm in Niamey (domestic poultry) in January 2024 has been the only confirmed case to date. In February 2024, six suspicions were reported in the regions of Maradi (1), Tahoua (1), Zinder (1), and Niamey (3). Samples analyzed by Laboratoire Central de l'Elevage (LABOCEL) tested negative. However, a case of low-pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in a backyard guinea fowl farm in Niamey.
• FAO ECTAD supported with rapid test kits as well as PCR reagents (probes and primers) from the stockpile project, and ongoing support for the dispatch of samples from the February outbreak to the reference laboratory.

Nigeria:

• On 1 February 2024 peacock mortality was reported on a farm in Kebbi State, northwest Nigeria. The peacocks became ill a few days after local birds from several sources were introduced into the farm. H5N1 HPAI was confirmed by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) on 8 February and between 20 and 27 February, two outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI were detected in Plateau State [link]. FAO ECTAD supported the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other One Health stakeholders in conducting follow-up investigations into the outbreak and ensuring disease containment. FAO ECTAD provided PPE, disinfectants, sampling equipment and biohazard bags for the field survey. Additional samples were collected and sent to the laboratory. In addition, FAO ECTAD visited live poultry markets in neighbouring towns to raise awareness of biosecurity measures, in particular, the risk of mixing different species in the same space/location was emphasised, and the alternate to put each animal species in its own space was stressed [link].
• FAO ECTAD is also purchasing motorized sprayers and PPE to help veterinary services improve implementation of certain biosecurity measures and response to outbreaks. FAO will participate in the meeting of the Ministerial Advisory Committee of Experts on control measures for HPAI to be held in March/April 2024.

Senegal:

• An HPAI active surveillance mission at sentinel ornithological sites was conducted from 20 to 27 January 2024 in Saint Louis, Fatick and the Ziguinchor regions, to detect HPAI virus during this high-risk period, as migratory birds arrive in Senegal. A total of 350 swab samples of fresh droppings were collected in six parks and reserves in the regions of Saint-Louis, Fatick, and Ziguinchor. These include the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, the Langue de Barbarie National Park, the Gueumbeul Wildlife Reserve, the Saloum Delta National Park, the Abéné Marine Protected Area, and the Palmarin Community Reserve. Laboratory analysis results of the samples collected all tested negative for avian influenza.
• In addition to active surveillance, passive surveillance and vigilance in the main risk area continue to be implemented.

Sierra Leone:

• FAO ECTAD supported the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to develop guidelines for Infection Prevention and Appropriate Antimicrobial Use in the poultry sector. The guidelines will provide all poultry farmers - from small scale to large commercial - with routine biosecurity procedures to reduce occurrence and spread of infections on the farms and promote effective and safe use of drugs.

Somalia:

• FAO is implementing a pilot poultry value chain development project.

Togo:

• FAO supports active surveillance missions in live poultry markets and organized training for 18 trainers on biosecurity measures and good breeding practices. Also, FAO trained 43 Village Livestock Assistants, including two women, on community surveillance to improve early warning for the detection and rapid response to diseases.

Uganda:

• FAO ECTAD and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries are finalizing the HPAI surveillance plan. At the time of this report, no recent HPAI surveillance reports have been received from the Animal Health Sector.

Zambia:

• Active surveillance activities were conducted in the past 3 months (January 2024-March 2024). A total of 600 samples were collected from layer chickens (22-75 weeks) in 5 breeder farms from Copperbelt, Central, Lusaka and Southern provinces. All samples tested negative for M, H5 and H7 genes by PCR at the Central Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI) in Lusaka.

Important links

• FAO-WHO-WOAH Joint FAO/WHO/WOAH preliminary assessment of recent influenza A(H5N1) viruses
• USDA Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Detections in Livestock
• WHO Avian Influenza A(H5N1) - United States of America
• WOAH High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza in Cattle
• FAO Stay vigilant with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1)
• CDC Technical Update: Summary Analysis of Genetic Sequences of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses in Texas
• CDC How CDC is monitoring influenza data among people to better understand the current avian influenza A (H5N1) situation
• The list of wild bir and mammalian species which have been infected with H5Nx HPAI [link]
• Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds H5N1 High pathogenicity avian influenza in wild birds - Unprecedented conservation impacts and urgent needs
• EFSA Avian Influenza Overview December 2023 – March 2024
• EFSA Avian Influenza Overview reports [link]
• WHO Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2024 southern hemisphere influenza season
• WHO Rapid risk assessment of risk associated with recent influenza A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses
  
• WHO Consultation on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines related documents (from 2011 to date)
• WOAH Strategic challenges in the global control of high pathogenicity avian influenza [90SG/8]
• OFFLU The OFFLU website
• OFFLU HPAI Detections in Livestock page
• OFFLU Avian influenza matching (OFFLU-AIM) report
• OFFLU Avian data package for the VCM - February 2023 to September 2023
• OFFLU Summary reports of OFFLU contribution to WHO VCM (2013-2023)
• ECOWAS, FAO, USAID Report on the Regional Consultative Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in West Africa
  
• FAO-WHO-WOAH Tripartite Zoonotic Guide
• FAO-WHO-WOAH Tripartite Joint Risk Assessment (JRA) Operational Tool
• FAO-WHO-WOAH Ongoing avian influenza outbreaks in animals pose risk to humans - Situation analysis and advice to countries from FAO, WHO, WOAH
• FAO Report: Global consultation on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) 2-4 May 2023, Rome
• FAO Good emergency management practice - The essentials: A guide to preparing for animal health emergencies, the third edition 
• FAO Manual for the management of operations during an animal health emergency
• FAO Effective disposal of animal carcasses and contaminated materials on small to medium-sized farms
• FAO Veterinary laboratory testing protocols for priority zoonotic diseases in Africa
• FAO Guiding principles for the design of avian influenza active surveillance in Asia: Designing active, comprehensive, risk-based avian influenza surveillance
• FAO Webinar: Managing large-scale highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in wild birds: part 1, part 2
• FAO Addressing H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Qualitative risk assessment on spread in the Central African region Issue no. 4, including H5N8 HPAI in Uganda and the risk to neighbouring countries.
• Focus On: 2016–2018 Spread of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in sub-Saharan Africa
• Focus On: Highly Pathogenic H5 Avian Influenza in 2016 and 2017–Observations and future perspectives

Disclaimer

Information provided herein is current as of the date of issue. Information added or changed since the last Sub-Saharan HPAI situation update appears in orange. For poultry cases with unknown onset dates, reporting dates were used instead. FAO compiles information communicated by field officers on the ground in affected countries, from regional offices, and from the World Organisation for Animal Health [WOAH], as well as peer-reviewed scientific articles. FAO makes every effort to ensure, but does not guarantee, accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on these map(s) do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.