21.12.2023

This report (attached below) summarises the spread and impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza of the subtype H5 (HPAI H5) clade 2.3.4.4b in South America, its incursion into South Georgia, and the risk for further spread in the Antarctic region and for incursion into Oceania. The focus of the report is on HPAI H5 in wildlife, and covers neither spread in poultry nor sporadic spillover to humans, as these are the subjects of other reports. Between the first detection of HPAI H5 virus in South America in October 2022 and November 2023, the deaths of 597,832 birds of at least 82 species and 50,785 mammals of at least 10 species have been reported, with the bulk of the reported mortality occurring in Peru and Chile.