Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Clade 2.3.4.4b Virus in Poultry, Benin, 2021

H ighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses represent a major threat to animal and public health. HPAI A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96-lineage subtype H5N1 viruses first emerged in southern China in 1996, and their descendants have since evolved into different phylogenetic clades causing large outbreaks in poultry and wild birds worldwide (1). Since first being detected in Nigeria in 2006, HPAI H5N1 viruses have been responsible for numerous outbreaks in many countries in Africa, causing high mortality in domestic and wild birds over the past 15 years (2,3).