H5N1 outbreaks are expanding worldwide as fall migration drives new infections across poultry, livestock, and wildlife. Germany has lost nearly 1 million birds since September, while major U.S. outbreaks have hit turkey and egg farms in the Dakotas, Michigan, California, Georgia, and Indiana. The CDC reports that some human infections may occur without symptoms, underscoring surveillance gaps. The virus is also spreading among mammals, with detections in house mice in Washington and suspected deaths of hundreds of seal pups on a remote Australian island. Mass culls, wildlife die-offs, and supply disruptions now span multiple continents, with no sign of slowing.

Nearly 1 Million Birds Dead to H5N1 In Germany

In Germany, bird flu has now killed nearly 1 million birds across 66 poultry farms since September. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), the country’s animal health authority, reports that H5N1 is showing no signs of slowing as autumn migration carries it southwest (DPA, 2025b). Wild bird infections are also spreading rapidly. In the town of Linum, a historic birdwatching destination outside Berlin, volunteers have recovered nearly 2,000 dead migratory cranes in recent days — one of the most significant wildlife die-offs ever seen on a European flyway (Brodersen, 2025). With migration ongoing, experts caution that an easing of the situation “is not in sight” (DPA, 2025a).

Commercial Farms Hit In Dakotas, Michigan, California

H5N1 continues to rip through commercial U.S. poultry operations, with new outbreaks reported on major turkey farms in the Dakotas and at a large egg-laying facility in California. In Lamoure County, North Dakota, 24,700 turkeys were affected, while two South Dakota farms — one in McPherson County with 63,800 birds and another in Spink County with 56,300 — also tested positive. In Michigan, a commercial turkey operation in Ottawa County reported 62,200 birds impacted. On the West Coast, California’s Sonoma County confirmed a new outbreak at a commercial egg-laying facility housing 231,000 hens (Soucheray, 2025c).

CDC: Asymptomatic Human Cases And Human Spread

A new CDC review suggests that some human H5N1 infections may occur without symptoms, raising concern that silent transmission could go undetected in outbreak settings (Dawood et al., 2025). The review identified 18 asymptomatic infections discovered through contact tracing and poultry-exposure surveillance. The study also found that one of the patients identified was likely infected by a family member rather than by direct bird contact. The researchers warn that these findings challenge long-held assumptions that H5N1 infection is always severe and highlight major gaps in global monitoring of mild or undetected cases (Van Beusekom, 2025).

Georgia Outbreak Leaves 140,000 Chickens Dead

Georgia officials have confirmed a major H5N1 outbreak at a commercial poultry facility in Gordon County, where 140,000 broiler chickens tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. All commercial poultry operations within a 6.2-mile radius have been quarantined and are undergoing surveillance testing. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper called the outbreak “a serious threat to Georgia’s No. 1 industry,” emphasizing containment efforts to safeguard the state’s $6 billion poultry sector (Arias, 2025).

Bird Flu Sweeping Through Northern Indiana Poultry Belt

Indiana’s northern poultry corridor — spanning Elkhart and LaGrange counties — has become the state’s latest avian flu hotspot, with 15 commercial farms now infected since October 9. The virus, first confirmed in a series of duck facilities, has since spread to major egg-laying operations. The first of these recent detections occurred on October 30, when a commercial breeder duck farm in Elkhart County reported 6,860 infected birds (Miller, 2025a). Within days, five more farms tested positive — including both duck and egg-layer operations — bringing total losses to more than 72,000 birds by November 4. Indiana is the nation’s top duck producer and third-largest egg supplier — which causes supply-chain concerns as the bird flu season enters full swing (Miller, 2025b).

House Mice Infected In Washington State

Six house mice in Grant County, Washington, have tested positive for avian influenza, marking another mammal infection tied to the virus’s spread. The detections, confirmed by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), were made on October 15. Grant County, located west of Spokane, reported seven avian flu cases in wild birds just days later, including multiple ducks and waterfowl on October 23 (Soucheray, 2025b).

Hundreds Of Dead Seals On Remote Island: Bird Flu Suspected

Australian scientists have found hundreds of dead elephant seal pups on Heard Island — a remote, sub-Antarctic territory roughly 1,700 kilometers north of Antarctica — and say the animals’ condition is consistent with H5N1 avian influenza. Samples are undergoing confirmation, but officials believe the mass deaths are linked to the same H5N1 strain recently detected on nearby French islands. If verified, it would mark the southernmost reach of H5N1 since it spread into Antarctica from South America in 2023. Heard Island hosts dense colonies of seals, penguins, and seabirds, raising concern that the virus could expand further across the region’s wildlife populations (Hobson, 2025).

References

Arias, P. (2025, October 26). Bird flu cases on the rise, as illness confirmed at Georgia commercial poultry farm. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/health/bird-flu-cases-rise-illness-confirmed-georgia-commercial-poultry-farm

Brodersen, F. (2025, October 28). Bird flu hits migrating cranes hard in Germany as the virus flares up. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/28/germany-bird-flu-cranes-migratory-birds/2df91e28-b400-11f0-88c1-4e2f98984a34_story.html

Dawood, F. S., Garg, S., Patel, P., & Uyeki, T. M. (2025). Asymptomatic Human Infections With Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Confirmed by Molecular and Serologic Testing. JAMA Network Open, 8(10), e2540249–e2540249. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.40249

DPA. (2025a, November 2). Germany’s bird flu wave set to move south, animal authority warns. Dpa International via Yahoo News; Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/germany-bird-flu-wave-set-133327082.html

DPA. (2025b, November 3). Almost 1 million birds culled as Germany tackles avian flu outbreak. Dpa International via Yahoo News; Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/almost-1-million-birds-culled-162440421.html

Hobson, P. (2025, October 24). Bird flu: Fears highly contagious virus spreading after hundreds of seal pups found dead. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bird-flu-hn51-seal-pups-heard-island-australia-b2851746.html

Miller, C. J. (2025a, October 30). Nearly 7,000 Ducks Impacted by Bird Flu at Elkhart County Farm. Hoosier Ag Today. https://www.hoosieragtoday.com/2025/10/30/elkhart-county-duck-farm-bird-flu-2/

Miller, C. J. (2025b, November 4). UPDATE: More than 72,000 Birds Impacted by Bird Flu at Five Northern Indiana Poultry Farms. Hoosier Ag Today. https://www.hoosieragtoday.com/2025/11/04/hpai-lagrange-county-poultry-farms/

Soucheray, S. (2025a, October 23). Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. CIDRAP. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/avian-flu-detections-wild-birds-including-waterfowl-spike-across-us

Soucheray, S. (2025b, October 30). Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Umn.edu. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/avian-flu-detected-house-mice-washington-state

Soucheray, S. (2025c, November 4). Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Umn.edu. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/avian-flu-strikes-turkey-farms-dakotas-large-egg-facility-california

Van Beusekom, M. (2025, October 30). Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. CIDRAP. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/review-human-h5n1-avian-flu-cases-can-be-asymptomatic-and-virus-likely