As H5N1 avian influenza continues its unprecedented global spread, veterinary health officials across Latin America and the Caribbean are taking coordinated action to get ahead of the threat. Professionals from official veterinary services in 15 countries gathered in Panama City in late March 2026 for the first in-person workshop of the ProgRESSVet Latin America 2025/2026 program — a regional initiative focused on strengthening epidemiological surveillance and early detection of avian influenza across the Americas.
The workshop brought together 45 veterinarians from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. The initiative is coordinated by the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) at the University of Minnesota and the Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health Center (PANAFTOSA/SPV) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in collaboration with the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) and the PAHO Office in Panama.
An Unprecedented Threat Drives Regional Urgency
The timing of the workshop reflects the severity of the current global H5N1 situation. Since the Goose/Guangdong lineage emerged in 1996, avian influenza A(H5N1) has periodically caused outbreaks across multiple continents. But the spread of clade 2.3.4.4b in recent years has created what PAHO describes as an “unprecedented health scenario,” marked by high mortality rates in both wild and commercially farmed birds.
In the Americas, the virus has followed migratory bird routes — particularly aquatic species — deepening risks to poultry industries, wildlife populations, and broader ecosystems. Since 2021, a sustained increase in infections among domestic and wild mammals has further complicated the picture, signaling a broadening host range and underscoring gaps in surveillance capacity across the region.
While H5N1 does not spread easily between humans, infections can occur under certain exposure conditions, and the expansion of the virus into mammalian species is closely watched by public health authorities as a potential precursor to pandemic risk.
Building a Real-Time Early Warning Tool
A centerpiece of the ProgRESSVet program is the development of an online early warning tool designed to assess the risk of avian influenza virus introduction into participating countries. The tool is being built in collaboration with the Animal Health Research Center (CISA-INIA/CSIC) in Spain and is intended to be adapted by individual countries to fit their national contexts, surveillance infrastructure, and capacity levels.
During the Panama workshop, participants reviewed a pilot version of the tool, examining how it functions, discussing practical applications, and providing technical feedback to guide further development. The session resulted in a preliminary plan to integrate the early warning system into national surveillance networks — a significant step toward turning regional cooperation into operational capacity.
By strengthening coordination between official veterinary services and the environmental sector, the tool is also designed to incorporate wildlife data into national risk assessments, closing a critical surveillance gap in countries where wild bird monitoring has historically been limited.
Professionals engaged in the virtual phase of the program since March 2025 used the Panama workshop to consolidate their learning, share national experiences, and align on next steps. With 45 veterinarians now equipped with updated surveillance methodologies and a shared early warning framework, the region is better positioned to detect and respond to future introductions of the virus before they escalate.
Sources and further reading:
The Americas strengthen surveillance against avian influenza: 15 countries participate in the regional ProgRESSVet workshop in Panama – Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)