Fears bird flu is now endemic with year-round outbreaks

Poultry farmers from Arctic to Portugal reported 2,500 outbreaks in past year, with migrating birds taking avian flu to North America

In past years, outbreaks of avian flu declined with warmer weather and the end of migration by wild birds in the autumn and winter.

Europe has been hit by an “unprecedented” number of cases of avian flu this summer, with 47.7 million birds having been culled since last autumn, according to new figures.

Poultry producers from as far north as Norway’s Svalbard islands to southern Portugal have together reported almost 2,500 outbreaks of the disease since last year.