Over the past week, only one country — Taiwan — has officially reported new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry. In Germany, Israel, Italy, and Vietnam, the disease situation is reported to be resolved. Irish farmers whose flocks were culled after testing positive for the mild avian flu virus have been invited to apply for some financial compensation.
Avian influenza in Taiwan
Taiwan has confirmed just one outbreak of HPAI since the past week. Comprising just over 11,000 native chickens, the affected flock was at a farm in Changhua county, according to the official report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). More than 1,400 of the birds died, reported the Council of Agriculture, and the rest of the flock has been culled and destroyed.
These were the first cases of HPAI for four weeks. Presence of the H5N5 HPAI virus was confirmed, bringing Taiwan’s total outbreaks linked to this virus since September of last year to 33.
Following a battle lasting more than five years, Taiwan last month reported the HPAI situation linked to another virus — the H5N2 subtype — had been resolved.
Germany, Israel, Italy: avian flu in poultry 'resolved'
Over the past week, Germany’s federal agriculture ministry has reported to the OIE that the avian flu has been successfully resolved in two states. During the month of March this year, the H5N8 HPAI virus was detected among two turkey flocks — one in each of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) and Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt). There have been no further cases in wither state since March.
Also confirming the resolution of an earlier HPAI event to the OIE is Israel. According to agriculture ministry reports, there was just one outbreak linked to the virus in April of 2019. Mortality was elevated among one pen of turkeys at a farm in Hazafon (Northern District). All 13,500 turkeys were culled and destroyed, and the virus has not been detected since that time. Source of infection was thought to be migratory birds attracted to a nearby aquaculture facility.
Italy’s animal health agency has reported to the OIE the resolution of the low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) outbreak first reported just last week. In mid-June, four ostriches at a farm in the Mantua province in Lombardy tested positive for the H5N3 LPAI virus. All 132 birds were culled, and the infection was reported as “resolved” on June 20.
Overview of the avian flu situation in Europe
Lately, the H5N8 HPAI has been afflicting the Hungarian poultry sector in three counties in the south of the country. Since the last week of March, a total of 270 outbreaks have been confirmed, but there have been no new cases since June 9.
HPAI has been confirmed in poultry in eight European countries so far this year, according to the Animal Disease Notification System of the European Commission.
Reflecting an absence of recent changes, the organization lists in its update of June 30 a total of 325 HPAI outbreaks in poultry since January 1. Of these, 273 were in Hungary, 32 in Poland, and nine in Bulgaria. Other countries that have reported one or more outbreaks in 2020 are Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Additionally, there have been three outbreaks among captive birds in Europe, as well as three in wild birds, according to the same source. For both of these categories, there have been no new cases since March.
Avian flu 'resolved' in north, south Vietnam
Following a brief absence, Vietnam’s agriculture ministry informed the OIE in February of this year that the H5N6 HPAI virus had returned to the north of the country. A total of 46 village poultry flocks in 12 provinces were found infected with the virus between January and May of this year, but no new cases have been confirmed since May 6.
In the south of Vietnam, the H5N1 HPAI virus was detected in three village flocks in the Mekong Delta region during April, according to OIE reports. The ministry reports that HPAI has also been successfully brought under control in this region.
Irish farmers welcome support for avian-flu affected flock owners
The Irish Farmers’ Union (IFA) has welcomed the government’s announcement of financial support for 14 poultry farmers whose birds have been infected with the H6N1 LPAI virus. Fourteen flock owners in the Cavan/Monaghan region are set to receive EUR20,000 (US$22,600) each.
“While this will not cover the losses that any poultry farmer incurred due to LPAI infection on their farms, it will go some way towards the costs incurred during the cull and disinfection process,” said IFA Poultry chairman, Andy Boylan. “The supports are welcome, and all stakeholders must continue the ongoing dialogue in an effort to tackle such diseases in the sector.”
Offered only to applicants who lost all their birds to the disease up to July 1, the payments come under the European “De minimus” regulation. This allows member state governments to offer limited state aid to business facing particular hardship.
In its latest update from the start of June, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine reported that the virus had impacted 13 farms, including 11 layer flocks and two with fattening turkeys.
Main symptoms observed were a significant drop in egg production, reduced feed intake, mild depression, and a slight increase in mortality. All affected owners opted to cull their flocks. This virus is not notifiable, and so it does not impact the Irish Republic’s avian influenza status.
The same virus was detected at 15 premises in Northern Ireland, most recently in March of this year.
Update on the avian flu situation in the U.S.
Three of the 11 poultry premises in North Carolina affected by the H7N3 LPAI virus earlier this year remain in quarantine. Cleaning and disinfection have been completed at one of the three farms, and are ongoing at the other two, according to the latest report to the OIE from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Following negative results from recent environmental testing, all the other eight farms previously affected have now been released from quarantine.
During the month of March, APHIS confirmed 12 LPAI outbreaks among commercial turkey flocks—11 in North Carolina, and one in South Carolina. More than 305,000 birds were lost the disease through mortality or culling.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
