What you need to know now Avian flu virus detected in cow in Europe for the first time
For the first time, the bird flu virus has been detected in a cow outside the USA - in the Netherlands. What does this mean for consumers and farms in Europe?
26.01.2026, 21:06
dpa
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- For the first time, the bird flu virus has been detected in a cow outside the USA.
- In the Netherlands, antibodies against the H5N1 pathogen were found in the animal's milk.
- In the USA, dairy cows infected with bird flu were first discovered in March 2024 - but the first animals were probably already sick in the fall of 2023.
- The avian flu virus in cows is mainly excreted in milk. However, commercial dairy products are considered safe as heat and pasteurization eliminate the virus.
- The number of outbreaks of avian influenza in mammals increased significantly in 2024.
The avian influenza virus has been detected in a cow in the Netherlands, the first time it has been detected outside the USA. Antibodies against the H5N1 pathogen were found in the animal's milk, according to a letter from the Dutch Minister of Agriculture to Parliament. According to the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) near Greifswald, no other such detection is known worldwide.
Is there a risk to humans from the animal's milk?
The bird flu virus in cows is mainly excreted in their milk. However, there was no risk: the milk of the sick cow was not processed because of her health problems, according to the ministry. Commercial dairy products are considered safe anyway, as heat and pasteurization eliminate the virus. The consumption of raw milk was strongly discouraged in the wake of the avian flu outbreak among dairy cows in the USA.
How was the disease discovered?
According to the minister's report, a cat had died on the farm in the Dutch province of Friesland on December 26th and was found to be infected with H5N1. The dairy cows on the farm were tested on January 15. None of the animals had symptoms at that time. Antibodies against H5N1 avian influenza were found in the samples from one cow.
Antibodies are produced during an infection by the body's immune response. According to the report, the cow had had an udder infection and breathing problems in December - typical symptoms of a dairy cow with bird flu. Further samples taken on January 22 from other cows on the farm remained unremarkable.
There was no evidence of the active spread of the avian flu virus among the dairy cows on the farm, it said. However, follow-up tests were ordered for five samples.
What does the case mean?
According to experts, there are around 1.5 billion cattle worldwide. Despite the global trade in animals and food, H5N1 infections have so far only been known from cows in the USA. How the cat and the cow in the Netherlands became infected was initially unclear. According to the FLI, the pathogen could have been passed on through contact with infected birds or via contaminated faeces, feed, water or milking equipment.
In autumn, FLI Vice President Martin Beer spoke of a huge but barely recognizable wave of infection in wild birds in Europe. Tests on wild ducks in Holland, for example, showed that up to 25 percent were affected. Due to the outbreaks in previous years, there is a pronounced immunity in many wild bird populations: the birds become infected, but fall ill and die far less frequently. The virus continues to be spread via the droppings of infected animals, among other things.
H5N1 outbreaks among cows would be an extreme challenge for dairy farms already plagued by diseases such as bluetongue. Milk from H5N1-infected cows would not be allowed to be sold in Europe. In any case, milk production is reduced in infected animals and the milk itself is thick and discolored. Most dairy cows recover from the disease.
According to Beer, cattle are the only known living beings apart from humans in which the virus does not primarily affect the brain: in dairy cows, the udder is affected, in humans the eyes and respiratory tract.
What is the situation in the USA?
In the USA, dairy cows infected with bird flu were first discovered in March 2024 - but the first animals were probably already sick in the fall of 2023. Hundreds of other farms were quickly affected, followed by evidence in pets such as cats and dozens of people, mostly farm workers or vets. Experts estimate the number of unrecorded cases to be very high.
In Germany, intensive efforts would have been made to stop the outbreak - in the USA, such measures were hardly recognizable, Beer once explained. Experts assume that a large proportion of US farms are now contaminated.
Is there bird flu everywhere in the world?
The Australian mainland is the last continent that is still considered free of bird flu. If the bird populations there were to be confronted with the pathogen, which is completely unknown to their immune systems, via migratory birds, the consequences would be terrible. However, experts believe it is highly unlikely that the continent will be spared in the long term.
The Antarctic region was also virus-free for a long time. In October 2023, however, H5N1 was detected on the small island of Bird Island off the coast of South Georgia. In February 2024, H5N1 was detected on the Antarctic mainland for the first time.
In turn, H5N1 arrived in the Antarctic region from South America, where it had spread at the end of 2022. In the decades before that, South America had always remained free of bird flu. The first evidence of bird flu was detected in North America in 2015.
Europe has been plagued by the virus, which originated in Asia, for many years. However, infections have only been occurring all year round since 2021; before that, the pathogen was almost only found in connection with bird migration during the cold season.
Tests on dairy cows in this country have so far always remained inconspicuous. However, there are numerous cases in foxes, raccoon dogs, badgers and other wild carnivores.
What is the trend?
The number of outbreaks of avian influenza in mammals increased significantly in 2024. The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) wrote in its report of 1022 reported cases - compared to 459 in 2023. The risk of humans becoming infected remains low, according to the organization. The more mammals are affected, the higher the probability that the virus will adapt in such a way that it can be transmitted from mammal to mammal and possibly also to humans.
The H5N1 virus has already been found in many mammal species. In addition to cows and cats, various carnivore species from mink, foxes and bears to seals and gray seals have been affected. H5N1 has also been detected in a sheep in the UK.
