New bird‑flu activity flagged

Health authorities in India and Europe have flagged new bird-flu activity, with H5N1 confirmed in poultry in Kerala and H9N2 identified in a hospitalized traveler in Italy. (thehindu.com, who.int) In Kerala, officials confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in ward 16 of Udayanapuram grama panchayat in Vaikom taluk, Kottayam district, on April 12. District authorities ordered culling within a 1-kilometer radius and declared a 10-kilometer surveillance zone. (thehindu.com) The Kottayam order also banned the sale, transport and use of eggs, meat, manure and other poultry products from domestic birds for three days in local bodies inside that 10-kilometer zone. Movement of poultry, eggs, meat and manure into or out of the surveillance zone was barred for three months. (thehindu.com) Bird flu is an influenza virus that mainly spreads among birds, but some strains can infect people after exposure to sick animals or contaminated environments. H5N1 is the subtype most closely watched in poultry outbreaks because it can kill birds quickly and has caused severe human infections in some countries. (who.int, ecdc.europa.eu) The Italian case involved a man who had spent more than six months in Senegal and traveled to Italy in mid-March. He went to an emergency department with fever and a persistent cough, and next-generation sequencing later confirmed influenza A(H9N2). (who.int) The World Health Organization said Italy notified it on March 21, 2026, and described the infection as the first imported human H9N2 case reported in the European Region. By April 9, the patient’s condition was stable and improving after treatment and isolation. (who.int) H9N2 is a different bird-flu subtype from H5N1 and is generally classed as low pathogenic in birds, meaning it usually causes milder disease in poultry. In people, reported cases have usually been sporadic, and European health officials said no documented person-to-person transmission has been reported. (ecdc.europa.eu, who.int) European officials said all identified contacts in Italy tested negative for influenza and completed monitoring, while contacts identified in Senegal were asymptomatic. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control assessed the risk to the general population in the European Union and European Economic Area as very low, and the World Health Organization assessed the broader public risk as low. (who.int, ecdc.europa.eu) The Italy case also fits a longer pattern of scattered H9N2 infections outside Europe. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said 195 human H9N2 cases had been reported worldwide by 10 countries in Asia and Africa as of February 27, 2026, with two deaths recorded. (ecdc.europa.eu) In Kerala, the immediate concern is stopping spread among birds before it hits more farms and trade routes around Kottayam. In Italy, the immediate task is surveillance around a single imported human case that officials say has not shown sustained onward spread. (thehindu.com, who.int)