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Commission publishes One Health framework on zoonotic avian influenza prevention, preparedness and response

🇪🇺 European Commission (DG SANTE) · Wed 11 Nov 2026

The EU framework brings existing animal, public and occupational health measures into one reference document, as bird flu detections in wild birds reach a record level.

The European Commission has published a cross-sectoral, One Health framework for zoonotic avian influenza, aimed at strengthening coordination on prevention, preparedness and response across the EU. DG SANTE announced the document in its 11 November 2026 newsletter.

The Commission points to an evolving threat: more detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild birds, detection in dairy cows and sporadic human infections. Around 7,000 detections in wild birds were reported in Europe between October 2025 and August 2026, the highest number recorded to date. Avian influenza was first detected in dairy cows in 2024, showing it can infect food-producing animals beyond poultry.

The ECDC classifies the risk as low for the general public and low to moderate for people occupationally exposed. The Commission nonetheless says recent developments have made the topic a priority.

The framework is meant to serve as a single reference for the EU approach. It describes existing measures, explains how actors cooperate in different situations, recalls persistent challenges and highlights opportunities to address them, drawing on documents including Health Security Committee opinions and EU agency guidance.

It has three parts: an overview of the existing EU framework, covering legislation, policies, structures and mechanisms across animal, public and occupational health; a description of how the response works in practice, using scenarios of increasing public health relevance and setting out roles for Member States, the Commission and EU agencies; and practical avenues to strengthen the approach. Those avenues span four areas: One Health governance, cross-sectoral surveillance, biosecurity and occupational health, and communication.

The newsletter item does not mention vaccines, antivirals or other medicines, so any medicines-related content would have to be confirmed in the full framework document and its factsheet.

What it means for your team

  • The newsletter summary does not mention medical countermeasures; regulatory and PV teams should read the full framework to see whether it contains any actions on vaccines, antivirals or related supply issues.
  • The framework consolidates existing EU legislation, structures and mechanisms across animal, public and occupational health, and may be a useful reference for preparedness planning.
  • Record wild-bird detections and the 2024 dairy cow findings underline why the Commission treats this as a priority, although ECDC still rates the general public risk as low.

Official source: European Commission (DG SANTE) ↗

Article written by VigiEye from the official source (European Commission (DG SANTE)). AI-assisted; check the source before acting.

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