Avian flu returns to Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia

After an absence of more than one year, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) appears to have returned to Malaysia, and further cases have been confirmed in Vietnam, and in Russia.

(mashi_naz, Bigstock)
(mashi_naz, Bigstock)

After an absence of more than one year, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) appears to have returned to Malaysia, and further cases have been confirmed in Vietnam and Russia.

One Malaysia layer farm is reported to have been hit by an outbreak of HPAI. That case occurred in a layer farm in the state of Sabah, which is in the northern part of the island of Borneo, reported New Straits Times late last week.

The Tuaran district has been declared a bird flu area, and agriculture minister, Junz Wong, has ordered the culling of all poultry within one kilometer of the affected chicken farm in order to stop the virus from spreading to other areas. Samples will be taken from all flocks within five kilometers of the infected premises to test for signs of the virus.

More than 10,000 head of poultry will be affected by the cull, according to The Star.

In early July, the minister had denied reports of HPAI in Sabah, saying that elevated poultry mortality levels were caused by adverse weather.

Official reports from the national animal health agency to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) indicate the most recent cases of HPAI in Malaysia were in March of 2017. These followed a series of outbreaks of the disease linked to the H5N1 virus variant among small backyard and village poultry flocks, all in the state of Kelantan.

HPAI has also returned to the Vietnamese poultry sector. In the last days of July, the H5N6 virus was detected in backyard poultry flocks at three locations in the north of the country — two in Hai Phong province, and one in Nghe An. Almost 1,600 of the birds died, and a further 11,030 have been destroyed to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.

The birds affected by the latest outbreaks were ducklings, reported VN Express.

Vietnam’s last HPAI outbreak was in February this year.

After just one confirmed outbreak of HPAI linked to the H5N8 virus group in February this year, the agriculture ministry in Taiwan has declared its poultry population free of this virus to the OIE.

Russia confirms four new HPAI outbreaks

Russia’s animal health agency, Rosselkhoznadzor, has confirmed to the OIE a further four new HPAI outbreaks in poultry in the last week.

All the latest cases were in backyard flocks, affecting 272 birds in total. They included one flock in an area unaffected by the disease up to now — Ulanovsk oblast — as well as two outbreaks in Chuvash, and one in Tatarstan.

These bring to 71 the number of HPAI outbreaks in Russia since June of this year.

Low-pathogenic avian flu situation resolved in Dominican Republic

Veterinary authorities in Dominican Republic have declared the Caribbean state free of low-pathogenic avian influenza to the OIE.

The declaration follows a total of 10 outbreaks of disease linked to the H5N2 virus variant between October of 2017 and May of this year.

The latest official report to the OIE confirms an outbreak that started in March, affecting a flock of 34,500 laying hens in the state of La Vega.

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