Investigating the evolutionary dynamics of the Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza Virus A(H5N1) outbreaks in Italy, October 2021 - July 2023
Abstract
In recent years, the epidemiological situation of avian influenza has
been undergoing rapid changes, leading to severe consequences for the
poultry industry, farmers’ livelihoods, international trade, and the
health of wild birds. However, planning effective control measures
should this outbreak grow further requires real-time and open data,
which are scarce to date. We extracted the epidemiological data of
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) outbreaks reported
between 2021 and 2023 from the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale
delle Venezie and performed a comprehensive analysis. From October 2021
to July 20, 2023, 620 HPAI outbreaks detections were reported, of which
358 in domestic poultry and 257 in wild birds. Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna,
and Veneto have experienced the highest impact and are among the most
affected regions. Moreover, we applied economic indices (such as
Homogeneity, Location and Specialization Index) to wild birds dataset to
show their possible usage in epidemiology. Black-headed gull is the most
homogeneous species (HI: 0.44); Emilia-Romagna and Veneto are the less
homogenous regions (HI: 0.03, 0.10); less specialized regions are
Veneto, Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna (SI: 15.72, 24.53, 28.62). The
spread of the virus to five continents speaks to the need for global
cooperation and alertness to protect animals, people and economies.