Chinese poultry farm hit by avian flu

The only country to report an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in its poultry sector in the last week was China. The viruses have been detected in wild birds in Europe, and Denmark has reported its first cases of low-pathogenic avian flu on a farm for almost two years.

Photo by Andrea Gantz
Photo by Andrea Gantz

The only country to report an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in its poultry sector in the last week was China. The viruses have been detected in wild birds in Europe, and Denmark has reported its first cases of low-pathogenic avian flu on a farm for almost two years.

China’s agriculture ministry has officially informed the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of HPAI caused by the H7N9 virus variant in a commercial poultry flock in Ningxia Hua Autonomous Region in late April. All 86,000 laying hens were lost to the disease after 2,210 of them died.

Chinese authorities reported a previous outbreak of the disease linked to the same virus variant at an egg farm in another district of Ningxia in early April.

Europe: low-pathogenic avian flu in Danish duck flock

OIE has received confirmation from the national animal health agency of the first cases of low-pathogenic avian influenza in commercial poultry in Denmark since August of 2016.

According to the official report, an H5 virus was detected in a flock comprising 20,900 ducks as the result of a national surveillance program. All the birds have been humanely destroyed.

More wild birds in Sweden, Finland and Germany have tested positive for the H5N6 variant of the HPAI virus. According to the official reports from the veterinary authorities in the respective countries received in the last week, five eagles were found dead at two locations in Sweden (Skane and Kalmar counties), one in Turku in Finland, and a buzzard in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia.

The U.K. agriculture ministry has sent its final report to the OIE regarding H5N6 HPAI in wild birds, stating that the situation has been “resolved.”

Africa: Compensation for HPAI-hit farm in Togo

The Togolese farmer whose 4,000 poultry were slaughtered in April to prevent the spread of the H5N1 HPAI virus has received compensation amounting to 3.5 million CFA Francs (XOF; US$6,400 at current exchange rates) from the government, reports Republic of Togo.

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