Poland regains bird-flu-free status, clearing path for poultry export talks
Poland regained its status as free from highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry on 28 July 2026. The designation supports efforts to restore poultry exports to non-EU markets, although importing countries must lift their restrictions individually.
WOAH publishes Poland’s declaration
Poland regained its status as a country free from highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, in poultry effective 28 July 2026, Top Agrar reported. The World Organisation for Animal Health, known as WOAH, published the declaration submitted by Poland’s veterinary authorities.
According to Poland’s Chief Veterinary Inspectorate, the Chief Veterinary Officer sent the document to WOAH on 3 August, and the organisation published it on 6 August. The recognition provides the Polish poultry industry with an official basis for seeking the removal of disease-related trade restrictions.
Export access will return market by market
The restored status is particularly relevant to trade with countries outside the European Union. After an HPAI outbreak, some governments restrict imports from the entire affected country. Such measures may cover live poultry, poultry meat, eggs, egg products and breeding material.
WOAH publication does not automatically reopen every destination. Each importing country decides whether and when to withdraw its restrictions. Top Agrar noted that some cases may require additional negotiations, revised veterinary health certificates or separate approval from the importing country’s authorities.
Poland’s Chief Veterinary Officer has informed foreign partners about the change in the country’s disease status. Producers and exporters must now wait for individual governments to translate that notification into revised import conditions. The timing may therefore differ by product and destination, leaving access to some markets restricted even while others resume purchases.
Outbreaks were concentrated in key regions
The 2026 outbreak wave had a substantial effect on Polish poultry production. Veterinary Inspection data presented to the parliamentary Agriculture and Rural Development Committee showed that farms covered by confirmed outbreaks held 9.7 million birds. That figure represents the poultry population on affected premises, not the precise number culled, because some birds may have died from the disease before flock liquidation.
The largest numbers of outbreaks were recorded in Mazowieckie, with 46, Wielkopolskie, with 43, and Warmińsko-Mazurskie, with 18. Mazowieckie and Wielkopolskie together accounted for more than 62% of all poultry outbreaks recorded during the year, concentrating the production and disease-control burden in two major farming regions.
The final three outbreaks were detected on 27 May: one at a turkey farm in Lubelskie and two in goose flocks in Wielkopolskie. WOAH’s required disease-free period begins after control work at the last infected farm has been completed, including cleaning and disinfection, rather than on the date when the outbreak is first identified.
Wild birds remain a source of risk
The recovered status applies specifically to HPAI in poultry. It does not mean that the virus has disappeared from Poland. HPAI may continue circulating among wild birds and can be introduced into commercial farms again, making farm biosecurity and wildlife surveillance important even as export negotiations advance.
For poultry companies, the immediate commercial benefit depends less on the declaration itself than on the speed of decisions by trading partners. The status removes a central formal obstacle, but exporters still need acceptable certificates and destination-specific approval before shipments can restart. A new farm outbreak could also interrupt the reopening process and prompt renewed restrictions.
