The European Union is moving to tackle the looming threat of a new pandemic caused by an avian flu leap into the human population amid rising cases across the world.

This autumn, Europe has seen a sharp increase in avian influenza A(H5N1) cases in wild birds and poultry.  The concern is that its wide circulation among birds increases the risk of human exposure to infected animals and the virus subsequently spilling over to humans.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has created a new guide and a range of tools to help European countries detect and respond to possible animal-related influenza threats, including pandemics.

“Although the current risk for the European people is low, avian influenza is still a serious public health threat due to widespread outbreaks among animals across Europe.” explained Edoardo Colzani, ECDC head of respiratory viruses. ‘We need to make sure that early warning signs don’t go unnoticed and that public health actions are timely, coordinated, and effective. This document provides countries with a clear and adaptable framework to prepare for and respond to animal-to-human influenza transmission.”

This new guide sets out practical response scenarios ranging from the current situation – where no human cases have been reported in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) but avian influenza viruses are circulating widely in animals – to more serious scenarios involving human infections and even potential transmission human-to-human that could lead to a pandemic.

The ECDC added: “The framework is designed to help countries act quickly and proportionately as risks evolve. It includes a range of public health response measures, from enhancing surveillance and laboratory testing to ensuring protective equipment is available and communicating clearly with the public. It also highlights the importance of genomic surveillance, laboratory capacity building, and real-time data sharing.

“Crucially, the guidance embraces a ‘One Health’ approach, recognising that human health is closely connected to the health of animals and the environment. Close collaboration between veterinary services, agriculture, and public health, is essential to detect and contain threats early and protect people across Europe.”

The guide is the result of a collaboration with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the European Reference Laboratory for avian influenza and national experts.

“These materials are designed to help countries integrate the recommendations into their national preparedness plans,” the ECDC added.

The move comes after scientists at the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow has issued new warnings that bird flu viruses are a major threat to humans as they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body’s ways of stopping viruses in their tracks.

The team explained human flu viruses cause millions of infections every year. The most common types of these viruses, which cause seasonal flu, are known as influenza A viruses.

Dr Matt Turnbull, the first author of the study, from the MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow said: “The ability of viruses to swap genes is a continued source of threat for emerging flu viruses. We’ve seen it happen before during previous pandemics, such as in 1957 and 1968, where a human virus swapped its PB1 gene with that from an avian strain. This may help explain why these pandemics caused serious illness in people.

“It’s crucial that we monitor bird flu strains to help us prepare for potential outbreaks. Testing potential spillover viruses for how resistant they are likely to be to fever may help us identify more virulent strains.”

The move comes after scientists at the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow has issued new warnings that bird flu viruses are a major threat to humans as they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body’s ways of stopping viruses in their tracks.