Avian influenza spreads across northern, eastern Europe

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in poultry flocks across a broad swath of Europe.

Laura Glover, Freeimages.com
Laura Glover, Freeimages.com

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in poultry flocks across a broad swath of Europe. Up until three weeks ago, the H5N8 variant of the virus was found mainly in wild birds, generally members of the duck and gull families, on wetlands and near large bodies of water. Since that time, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has received confirmation of HPAI in poultry flocks from seven countries of northern and eastern Europe, as well as the Republic of Korea, India, Israel, Iran, Nigeria and Ghana.

Of the European countries, the first to report cases of HPAI in domestic poultry was Hungary in the first week of November. Since that time, the disease has spread to a further 13 poultry farms in three counties in the south of the country, mainly in Baks-Kiskun county. Most of the affected flocks comprised of ducks and geese ranging from 3,400 to more than 107,000 birds. More than 189,000 Hungarian poultry birds have died or been destroyed so far.

With its domestic waterfowl sector badly hit by HPAI one year ago, France had reported no new cases for months and is scheduled to regain its status as avian influenza-free on December 3. There has been a recent confirmation of the H5N8 virus in a small number of call ducks kept outdoors at Marck in the department of Pas de Calais in the north of the country reported to OIE. However, the ministry of agriculture has stated that call ducks are not officially categorized as domestic poultry and so disease-free status should still be achievable as expected. A second batch of birds at the same location is due to be slaughtered as a precaution. Because of the high-risk situation, the ministry has already called on the nation’s poultry farmers to impose extra biosecurity and to confine flocks.

HPAI of the H5N8 subtype was first detected in Germany in wild birds in the northern state of Schleswig Holstein in early November. According to the country’s reports to the OIE, there have now been eight outbreaks in domestic poultry flocks, most of which are small, non-commercial hobby flocks. Six of these have been in the state of Mecklenberg-West Pomerania, and one outbreak was in a breeder flock of 36,000 chickens. The latest update from the federal ministry of food and agriculture (BMEL) refers to two further outbreaks, one in a flock of 16,000 growing turkeys in Lower Saxony, and in a small flock in Saxony-Anhalt. That would put the total number of poultry affected by HPAI in Germany so far at more than 52,500.

Enhanced surveillance in Germany has also revealed an H5N2 variant of the low-pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAI) in a hobby flock of 55 mixed poultry at Mesekenhagen in Mecklenberg-West Pomerania.

Having reported wild birds infected with HPAI in the provinces of North Holland, South Holland, Flevoland and Brabant earlier this month, the veterinary authority in The Netherlands has reported to the OIE the country’s first case in a poultry flock. Around 500 fattening ducks have died among a flock of 10,000 at Biddinghuizen in Flevoland. The rest have been destroyed. All birds at five neighboring farms have been destroyed; they subsequently tested negative for the virus.

In Austria, the HPAI virus previously confirmed in wild birds appears to have spread to the country’s first commercial poultry flock. An outbreak has been confirmed at Bregenz in the westernmost state of Vorarlberg in a flock of 1,150 free-range turkeys. The region borders Lake Constance, where wild birds have recently tested positive for the HPAI virus.

Sweden has also reported its first cases of H5N8 HPAI in domestic poultry. At Helsingborg in Skåne county in the far south of the country, a flock of 153,000 laying hens showed higher-than-expected mortality and morbidity, and the presence of the virus was subsequently confirmed. The same virus had been detected in a dead wild duck in the same region in mid-November.

Russia has reported the country’s first outbreaks of HPAI in poultry in two backyard flocks in Yashaltinsky in the Republic of Kalmykia. The region is in the southwest of European Russia and the Caspian Sea lies to its south-east. The virus has not yet been fully identified but is known to belong to the H5 family.

OIE has also received reports of the H5N8 HPAI viruses in wild birds found dead at multiple locations in Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Croatia.

Asia: new outbreaks in Korea, India, Israel, Iran

South Korea has reported a total of 14 outbreaks of HPAI since mid-November in three provinces of North Chungcheong, South Jeolla and Gyeonng. Twelve of the outbreaks were in domestic ducks, and the other two in laying hens. In total, 187,000 birds have died or been destroyed as a result of the disease, which has been identified as the H5N6 variant of HPAI and is likely to have been transmitted to the flocks by wild birds.

The same variant of the virus has been detected in two black swans that died recently at a zoo in Akita prefecture in Japan.

India has reported its fifth outbreak of HPAI to the OIE. The latest cases were in a village flock of 1,593 birds at Itagi in the Bellary district of the state of Karnataka. This is the fourth state to be affected in this latest spate of apparently unrelated outbreaks in the country, linked to the H5N8 variant of the virus.

A first outbreak of HPAI caused by the H5N8 virus has been confirmed in Israel. In a flock of 34,500 heavy breeders at a farm in Yizreel in the Northern District (Hazafon). The presence of the H5N8 virus has been confirmed, and it is thought to have been brought to the region by migrating birds attracted by the aquaculture ponds nearby.

The Malard district in the province of Tehran in northern Iran has been the focus of three outbreaks of HPAI in commercial layers. Intensified surveillance revealed the outbreaks, according to the report to the OIE. In total, 310,000 chickens died or were destroyed as a direct result of infection, and a further 155,000 were slaughtered at a neighboring farm as a precaution although they subsequently tested negative for the H5N8 virus.

Africa: Nigeria, Ghana report new cases in poultry

Nigeria has been battling the H5N1 virus in poultry since January of 2015. The veterinary authority has reported to the OIE two new outbreaks in laying flocks in Rivers state, which led to the loss of 2,800 birds through mortality or destruction. A further 945 birds were affected when the same virus was confirmed at a chicken farm in Bauchi state and in a mixed backyard flock in Kano.

In late October, two backyard flocks in Greater Accra in Ghana succumbed to the same virus, leading to the loss of 1,550 birds.

Having reported to the OIE previous HPAI outbreaks caused by the H5N1 and H7N1 virus families, respectively, Cameroon and Algeria have sent follow-up reports confirming no new cases over the last three weeks. Authorities in Algeria report intensified surveillance of backyard flocks and wetland areas for the virus, a ban on the sale of live birds at markets and a campaign to increase awareness of the disease on the radio, and in schools and mosques.

The veterinary authority of South Africa has reported that the H5N2 LPAI has been detected at a further two commercial ostrich farms in Western Cape province recently.

Mexico still not clear of HPAI

According to a recent update by the veterinary authority to the OIE, one farm in Acatic municipality in Jalisco state still remains to be depopulated following previous confirmation of the H7N3 variant of the HPAI virus.

Looking back through the reporting history, the unit involved appears to have 161,000 laying hens, which tested positive for the virus seven months ago without showing any clinical signs. The most recent of the 31 outbreaks reported to the OIE was in April of this year.

There have been no reports of cases of influenza in the human population linked to any of these outbreaks. 

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