Avian flu in more poultry flocks in Taiwan

New cases of highly pathogenic avian flu have been confirmed in poultry in Taiwan, and ostriches in South Africa over the past week. In the United Kingdom (U.K.), a commercial flock infected with a mild form of the disease has been culled.

(sharafmaksumov | Bigstock)
(sharafmaksumov | Bigstock)

New cases of highly pathogenic avian flu have been confirmed in poultry in Taiwan, and ostriches in South Africa over the past week. In the United Kingdom (U.K.), a commercial flock infected with a mild form of the disease has been culled.

Avian influenza in Taiwan

Around the start of December, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus of the H5N2 variant was detected at three more farms in Taiwan.

Almost 51,400 poultry were culled in order to prevent further spread of the infection, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Two of the affected flocks were on farms in Dongshi town in Yunlin, bringing the county’s total outbreaks so far this year to 48. The virus was confirmed in a group of 4,413 meat ducks, and in 1,812 turkeys. Almost 340 of the turkeys died. The same fate was suffered by more than 4,400 native chickens out of a flock of over 45,000 birds in the Dacheng area of Changhua county. This was the county’s 18th outbreak in 2019.

As soon as the infection was suspected, movement restrictions were put in place at the affected premises. All surviving birds have been culled, and the carcasses destroyed. The farms have been cleaned and disinfected, and surveillance will be intensified on other poultry within three kilometers of the outbreaks for the next three months, reports the Council of Agriculture.

In the past week, there has also been a further outbreak of H5N5 HPAI among poultry in Pingtung county. As a result, more than 16,300 chickens have been culled, reports Focus Taiwan following this, the sixth outbreak in the county so far this year. The chickens were around seven weeks of age. The county’s disease center has collected samples from neighboring farms, and disinfected the area.

The H5N5 HPAI virus variant was first detected in Taiwan in September of this year. This latest outbreak brings the total linked to this virus variant to four, with previous cases in Pingtung, and the cities of Kaohsiung and Taipei.

The H5N2 virus has been circulating among Taiwanese poultry for almost five years.

Another HPAI outbreak in South Africa’s commercial ostriches

In late November, South Africa’s animal health agency confirmed signs of the H5N8 HPAI virus variant in four ostriches. The birds were part of a flock of 590 commercial birds at a farm in the Hessequa region of Western Cape Province.

The virus was first detected in South Africa in a broiler breeder flock in Mpumalanga in June of 2017. In more recent times, the infection has mainly been found among ostriches. Hessequa was also the location of the most recent outbreak, which began in mid-October. It brings the number of HPAI outbreaks in South Africa since 2017 to 213.

Flu-infected flock culled in the U.K.

The broiler breeder flock in England infected with a low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) earlier this month has been humanely culled in order to control the further spread of the virus.

It was previously reported that a drop in egg production was observed at the farm near Eye in the county of Suffolk in eastern England. Culling of the 27,000 birds has now been completed, and the farm is being cleaned and disinfected, reports the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

No signs of disease have been detected in nearby poultry flocks. The affected premises is being cleaned and disinfected following the cull, according to East Anglian Daily Times.

Investigations have so far not revealed the source of infection at the farm. However, UK veterinary labs have been able to characterize the virus as a member of the H5N3 subgroup, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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