Zoonotic influenza - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2018

No human cases of avian influenza were reported in the EU/EEA. Only two human A(H7N9) infections were reported from China, a significant decrease compared with 2017. Sporadic human cases of avian influenza A(H5N6) and A(H9N2) were reported from China. In 2018, outbreaks and detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses such as A(H5N1), A(H5N2), AH(H5N5), A(H5N6) or A(H5N8) continued to affect poultry and wild and captured birds worldwide, but on a lower scale than in 2017. Influenza viruses A(H1N2)v and A(H3N2)v of swine origin caused human cases in Australia and the United States.