Avian flu returns to poultry in India, Poland

Following the end-of-year holidays, official reports have been lodged recording outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry in India, Poland, and Taiwan. The disease has also caused mortality among wild birds in China.

(bangoland | Bigstock)
(bangoland | Bigstock)

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has returned to India after an absence of around two months.

The H5N1 virus variant was detected at a farm in Chhattisgarh following the deaths of around 5,600 birds in early December, according to the official report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

The outbreak was in a Government Poultry Farming Region in the Koriya district of the state, which is in central-eastern India. The infection was confirmed on December 23, and the remaining 15,400 poultry at the farm have been destroyed. Source of the virus has not been identified.

Spike in highly pathogenic avian flu in Taiwanese poultry

Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the start of Taiwan’s battle to control avian influenza, officials there have reported new outbreaks linked to three different virus variants.

The Council of Agriculture confirmed the first outbreaks of HPAI linked to the H5N2 virus on January 12, 2015. It has recently informed the OIE of a further nine outbreaks starting in the period December 16-21. Over 45,000 poultry of different types were directly affected by these outbreaks, including more than 5,000 mortalities.

Five of the outbreaks were in native chickens, together with one each in breeding geese, turkeys, meat ducks, and a flock of mixed poultry. After suspicious signs were observed, the virus was detected in two groups of native chickens at a slaughterhouse in Taipei. Other outbreaks were on farms, and only confirmed after mortality spiked. In addition to Taipei, these outbreaks occurred in the city of Tainan, and in the counties of Yunlin, Changhua, and Chiayi.

According to Focus Taiwan, a further flock of around 23,000 chickens has been destroyed in Yunlin county. The presence of the H5N2 HPAI virus was confirmed after around 600 of the birds died.

The same source reports 53 outbreaks of HPAI in Yunlin during 2019, resulting in the culling of 289,000 poultry. The previous year, 446,000 birds were lost to the disease as the result of 62 confirmed outbreaks in the county.

Based on official reports to the OIE, other Taiwanese regions affected by H5N2 HPAI in 2019 were Taipei (20 outbreaks), Changhua (19), and Chiayi (3).

As well as H5N2, Taiwan has confirmed to the OIE three further outbreaks of HPAI linked to the H5N5 virus subtype. All were in native chickens, with almost 28,300 birds directly impacted.

Two of the outbreaks were on farms, where clinical signs and elevated mortality had been noted. Suspicious signs were also observed in a small group of birds at the Taipei slaughterhouse. These latest outbreaks bring Taiwan’s total since the first H5N5 cases were identified in September of 2019 to six.

More low-pathogenic avian flu cases in Taiwan

Low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus of the H5N2 subtype has been detected periodically in Taiwan since 2015. The Council of Agriculture has retrospectively confirmed two additional outbreaks to the OIE, both of which were first detected in January of 2015. Both affected flocks suffered significant mortality. However, the pathogenicity of the virus was only revealed by test carried out in June of 2019, according to the Council’s report.

Taiwan’s policy on avian flu control remains in place. As soon as the disease is suspected, bird movements are halted at the affected premises. If the infection is confirmed, all poultry within 3 kilometers of the outbreak farm are tested, and subjected to intensive surveillance for the following three months.

Further HPAI outbreaks in Poland

Seven more outbreaks of HPAI linked to the H5N8 virus subtype have been confirmed in Poland. According to the agriculture ministry’s latest report to the OIE, all of these were on farms, and began between December 21 and January 4. More than 80,000 birds of unknown type were affected, including more than 12,000 deaths. The remaining birds at these locations have been destroyed.

As reported in the official notification to the OIE, Poland’s first outbreak of HPAI since April of 2017 was recorded at the end of December. A flock of around 12,000 turkeys was affected, all of which died.

All eight outbreaks so far reported have been in the south-east of Poland, in the province of Lublin, which borders Belarus and Ukraine. The first and five subsequent outbreaks have been in Lubartow county, and the other two in Krasnystaw.

Following all these outbreaks, infected poultry have been isolated and destroyed. According to a senior official in the Lithuanian veterinary service, no infected products have reached domestic or export markets, reports Baltic Times.

Avian flu suspected in Northern Ireland

Latest report from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the United Kingdom confirms no new cases of LPAI. Defra reports that the Restricted Zone around the affected premises has been lifted.

In early December of 2019, a a low-pathogenic H5N3 virus was detected in a broiler breeder flock in the east of England. All the birds were destroyed, and the premises have been cleaned and disinfected.

Recently, suspicious signs have been reported in a broiler breeder flock in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, according to the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the Irish Republic. The department warned Irish poultry keepers to implement strict biosecurity, to be alert to signs of the disease, and to report any suspicions promptly.

Investigations may take several days, according to the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). In the meantime, movement restrictions have been placed on the farm, reports Belfast Telegraph.

HPAI detected in wild birds in China

Mass mortality of swans at a lake in Xinjiang has been attributed to the H5N6 HPAI virus, reports news agency, Xinhua.

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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