Iraq has confirmed a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Bashiqa (in the north of the country), with 12,000 birds dead according to the notification sent to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH); the event, concentrated in domestic flocks, triggered culling, cleaning and disinfection, and movement restrictions in farms and poultry markets, while veterinary teams trace contacts and monitor wild birds in nearby wetlands.

The alert comes amid a tense regional context: Iran reported an H5N1 focus last week, suggesting a risk of cross-border spread via formal and informal trade and migratory bird routes. As immediate containment, Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture announced limits on imports of birds and poultry products from countries with recent reports and recommended strengthening farm biosecurity (access control, vehicle disinfection, safe water, and carcass management); authorities note that H5N1 primarily affects the production sector—direct mortality, preventive culling, temporary closures, and price pressure—and only rarely humans with direct exposure to infected birds.

So far, the Bashiqa outbreak has no associated human cases. For the general public, the risk is considered low as long as there is no contact with sick or dead birds; however, health surveillance calls for reporting unusual die-offs in backyard flocks or wildlife and avoiding handling animals without protection. Globally, experience with H5N1 shows human infections have been sporadic and linked to intense exposure, but with the potential for severe disease—hence the importance of cutting transmission chains in farms and markets and maintaining veterinary–public health coordination to detect any spillover to humans in time.