Bird flu detected in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast has reported a bird-flu outbreak on a poultry farm, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. (reuters.com) Reuters reported the notice on April 16, citing the World Organisation for Animal Health, which collects outbreak reports from national veterinary authorities. The report identified the case as an outbreak on a poultry farm in Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire. (reuters.com, woah.org) Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a virus that spreads mainly among birds and can force farms to kill entire flocks to stop it moving further. The World Organisation for Animal Health says outbreaks in domestic birds can hit trade, farm income and poultry supply. (woah.org) The outbreak lands in a market already shaped by repeated avian-flu losses in poultry flocks around the world since 2022. The Food and Agriculture Organization says highly pathogenic H5N1 strains have caused widespread outbreaks in domestic poultry and wild birds, with economic losses and supply disruption. (fao.org, who.int) Côte d’Ivoire’s poultry sector is a meaningful part of its farm economy, and a 2023 U.S. Department of Agriculture report said local production covers nearly all national chicken demand. That same report said the industry has already dealt with avian-influenza outbreaks alongside higher feed and transport costs. (fas.usda.gov, apps.fas.usda.gov) Global egg and poultry markets have been volatile even when prices ease, because new outbreaks can quickly cut laying-hen and turkey numbers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in April that table egg production expectations were raised on higher inventories, but earlier 2026 outlooks had lowered egg and turkey production because of losses to highly pathogenic avian influenza. (ers.usda.gov, ers.usda.gov, ers.usda.gov) Human illness from bird flu remains rare, but health agencies still track each animal outbreak because infected poultry can expose farm workers and nearby households. The World Health Organization says avian influenza A(H5N1) does not currently spread easily between people, though it has caused confirmed human infections and deaths over time. (who.int, who.int, who.int) The next step is containment: surveillance, farm biosecurity and rapid reporting. The World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organization have both urged countries to strengthen those measures as outbreaks continue across multiple regions. (woah.org, woah.org, fao.org)