France launches bird vaccination scheme amid fears of a repeat of H5N1 outbreaks

Of all the recently emerging and potentially pandemic viruses, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H5N1 is one of the fiercest. First detected in Hong Kong in 1997, it spread to the rest of the world with a mortality rate of 60% when transmitted from birds to humans. The World Health Organization has declared in August 2023 that 878 cases and 458 deaths were recorded since 1997.