Bird flu has reached new corners of the globe and is endemic for the first time among some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts who warn it is now a year-round problem.

Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the virus’s natural spread suggests record outbreaks in poultry farms will not abate anytime soon, increasing threats to the world’s food supply.

They warned that farmers should treat the disease as a serious threat year-round, rather than focusing efforts on prevention during wild bird spring migration seasons.

Outbreaks of the virus continue in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, undeterred by summer heat or winter cold, since a strain genetically similar to cases in Europe and Asia arrived in the United States in early 2022.

Egg prices hit record highs after the disease killed tens of millions of chickens last year, threatening a key source of cheap protein available to some of the world’s poorest people at a time when the global economy is struggling due to high inflation.

According to experts, the main responsibility for the spread of the virus is borne by wild birds. Waterfowl, such as ducks, can carry the disease without dying and can transmit it to poultry through infected feces, saliva, and other means.

All the efforts of farmers to protect livestock are not enough.

In the United States, Rose Acre Farms, the nation’s second-largest egg producer, lost about 1.5 million hens last year at a production site in Guthrie County, Iowa, even though everyone entering the barns had to shower first to remove any -what are the traces of the virus. , – said executive director Markus Rust.

The company’s farm in Weld County, Colorado, was infected twice within about six months, killing more than 3 million chickens, Rast said. He believes the wind carried the virus from nearby fields where geese were defecating.

The United States, Great Britain, France and Japan are among the countries that suffered record poultry losses last year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless.

“Bird flu appears even in a new poultry farm with modern equipment and no windows, so all we can do now is pray to God to protect us from infection,” said Shigeo Inaba, who raises chickens in yaso in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo.

Poultry in the northern hemisphere were previously thought to be at greatest risk when wild birds are active during spring migration.

Experts say rising levels of the virus in a wide range of waterfowl and other wild birds mean poultry now face high risks year-round.

“This is a new war. It’s basically 12 months of vigilance,” said Bret Marsh, a veterinarian in the US state of Indiana.

In a sign that the threat will continue, Marsh is asking Indiana lawmakers for funds to hire an additional veterinarian and avian health specialist.

Indiana has lost more than 200,000 turkeys and other birds in the past year, while the total U.S. death toll exceeds 58 million birds, according to U.S. government data, surpassing the previous record set in 2015.

The virus is usually fatal to poultry, and entire flocks are culled even if only one bird is positive.

Vaccination is not a simple solution: it can reduce but not eliminate the threat of the virus, making it difficult to detect its presence in the herd.

However, Mexico and the EU are among those vaccinating or considering vaccination.