Avian influenza in wild birds

The current surveillance report is part of Norway’s contribution to the European Union’s Surveillance Programme for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds and reports the surveillance of wild birds and mammals. This mandatory surveillance program is complemented by surveillance performed in the project One Health for Surveillance, which is also reported here to provide a full picture.

Influenza A virus was detected in 161 of 880 wild birds examined for avian influenza in Norway in 2025. Among all wild birds sampled through active or passive surveillance, HPAI H5 subtype virus was detected in samples from 77 birds. Sixty-five of the confirmed HPAI-positive wild birds in 2025 were identified through passive surveillance, i.e. sampling of birds that were found dead or diseased and euthanised. Among these HPAI detections, forty-six were H5N1, ten were H5N5, and nine were classified as H5Nx virus.

Of the 88 wild mammals tested as part of passive surveillance, five arctic foxes and one red fox tested positive for HPAI H5N5. Active surveillance detected influenza A virus in 82 wild birds, of which 18 were characterised as avian influenza H5, and twelve of these were confirmed as HPAI. HPAI cases were reported in 18 wild bird species.