India’s veterinary authority has confirmed widespread outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry and other birds earlier this year, and there have been new cases at a farm in Taiwan.
Earlier this year, the H5N1 subtype of the HPAI virus was detected in three poultry flocks in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala. According to the latest official reports from India’s animal husbandry ministry to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the same virus variant has also been linked to mortalities among other birds in three states.
All of these cases of HPAI emerged during the month of March, and were confirmed by India’s official veterinary lab shortly afterwards. The delay in making passing on the information to the OIE may have been linked to the official nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the first two weeks of March, typical signs of the disease and elevated mortality were observed at farms in Kerala and Karnataka, as well as among a sizeable backyard flock in the latter state. A total of almost 11,800 poultry were lost to the disease through mortality or culling.
HPAI was last confirmed in Karnataka in September of last year. In Kerala, there had been two outbreaks in poultry in the first days of March.
India confirms HPAI in wild birds
Other outbreaks confirmed by the Indian authorities in the past week was one involving the death of nine birds at a zoo in the northeastern state of Jharkhand during the third week of February.
Between mid-February and mid-March, the H5N1 HPAI virus was detected at four locations in the northern state of Bihar. Mass mortality of house crows occurred at three location in the state, and the fourth outbreak involved the death of trogons, a common insect- and fruit-eating bird species.
Also in mid-March, the deaths were recorded of more than half of the 137 birds at a livestock market in Mehgaon in the northern state of Madhya Pradesh. During the following week, a total of 148 house crows were found dead at three other locations in the same state.
Presence of the H5N1 HPAI virus was confirmed in all these outbreaks, while the sources of infection are unknown.
At the end of May, mass mortality of bats was reported in Bihar. Cause of death of around 200 bats is unknown, reports Hindustan Times. Investigations are on-going, but the district animal health officer reported that the mortality was unrelated to avian flu.
Following a single HPAI linked to the same virus variant in Chhattisgarh state in December of 2019, India’s veterinary authority has declared to the OIE that the disease situation has been “resolved” in that state.
One new HPAI outbreak in Taiwan
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture has informed OIE about one additional recent outbreak of HPAI. The H5N5 virus variant was detected in a flock of around 24,000 native chickens at a farm in Baozhong in Yunlin county. While 55 of the birds died, the rest of the flock was destroyed to prevent the further spread of the infection.
Since the first outbreak in September of 2019, this virus has been linked to cases in 32 poultry flocks. Eight outbreaks have occurred in Yunlin this year.
Disease 'resolved' in Saudi Arabia
The HPAI situation has been resolved, the agriculture ministry has declared to the OIE. The move followed a single outbreak of the disease linked to the H5N8 virus variant at a large farm in the Riyadh region at the end of January. There have been no further cases since that time, according to official reports.
Avian flu situation in Europe
No European states have reported new cases of HPAI to the OIE over the past week.
HPAI infections linked to the H5N8 virus variant has been confirmed in poultry in eight European countries so far this year, according to the Animal Disease Notification System of the European Commission. Of the 321 outbreaks reported in poultry, 270 were in Hungary, and a further 32 in Poland. There have also been three outbreaks in European countries in captive birds, as well as three more in wild birds.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
