Avian influenza reported in poultry in five countries

Over the past month, Japan and South Korea have reported further outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among their respective commercial poultry sectors.

Avian Influenza word cloud, made with text only
Avian Influenza word cloud, made with text only

Over the past month, Japan and South Korea have reported further outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among their respective commercial poultry sectors.

There have also been more cases in Iran, Israel and the Russian region of Tyumen. China’s health agency has registered one additional human case with influenza A(H5N6) of avian origin. 

Over the past month, two different variants of the HPAI virus have been detected in Japanese poultry flocks.

According to the nation’s veterinary authority, the first cases of the winter season linked to the H5N8 serotype were detected in early November. Affected was a flock of around 143,000 laying hens in the Yokote city region, according to the official report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The city is in Akita prefecture, which is in the Tohuku region of northern Honshu.

Within a few days, Japan’s first cases of the H5N1 serotype of the season were detected in Kagoshima in a layer flock of 38,500 hens. Located in the Kyushu region, this premises is in the far south-west of the country. Soon afterwards, around 155,000 birds tested positive for the virus in Hyogo prefecture in the Kansai region of central Honshu. 

Over the past week, OIE has received reports of two further outbreaks linked to this virus. Affected have been around 340 ducks at the Imperial Wild Duck Reserve in Ichikawa (Chiba prefecture), and a commercial flock of 67,000 broilers in the town of Nankan in Kumamoto prefecture. These prefectures are located in the Kanto region of central Honshu and the Kyushu region, respectively. 

So over the past month, Japan has recorded a total of five HPAI outbreaks in poultry in four different regions, and involving two virus variants.

As of December 7, the number of confirmed outbreaks in the country appears to stand at eight, according to the agriculture ministry.

10 outbreaks confirmed in South Korea

In South Korea, the number of HPAI outbreaks in poultry stands at 10, reports Yonhap news agency. It records the latest outbreak in a flock of 36,000 chickens in Yeongam, which is around 380 kilometers south of the capital, Seoul.

According to official reports to the OIE, several of these outbreaks have been detected through surveillance, which has revealed cases in six commercial ducks flocks. Also affected have been two layer flocks, and one of broiler chickens. Affected flocks have been located in the provinces of North Chuncheong, South Jeolla, and South Chungcheong. 

Of the around 1.14 million poultry directly impacted by these outbreaks, 1,880 have died. The rest have been culled in order to help reduce the risk of further spread of the infection. 

First cases in South Korea this winter were discovered on November 8 in a commercial quail flock.

Russia declares HPAI resolved in two regions

For the Urals federal district regions of Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk, the Russian veterinary authority has declared the HPAI situation “resolved” to the OIE.

The declaration follows a single outbreak linked to an H5 HPAI virus in a backyard poultry flock in the Sverdlovsk region in early October. In Chelyabinsk, the H5N1 virus variant was detected in three small groups of birds in the period August 27 to September 3.

Meanwhile, in the Tyumen region, further cases of the disease have been detected and culling carried out at premises known to be infected with the H5N1 HPAI virus. However, the infection appears not to have spread further. 

Since HPAI was first detected in this region in June, 14 outbreaks have been confirmed in wild birds — including in two groups of wild pelicans — and non-commercial poultry flocks. In October, birds in a commercial flock of around 1.67 million birds in the same region tested positive for the H5N1 virus variant.

Two new outbreaks reported in Israeli poultry flocks

In mid-November, poultry at two more farms in Israel tested positive for the H5N1 HPAI virus. The outbreaks involved 21,000 meat turkeys in Hadarom (Southern district) and 17,500 meat ducks in Hazafon (Northern district).

These bring to four the country’s outbreaks since October, directly impacting around 85,400 poultry. 

Iran registers further cases of H5 HPAI in poultry

Following a hiatus of little more than one month, HPAI returned to Iran during October.

According to the latest OIE reports, an H5 virus serotype was detected in four poultry flocks up to the end of November. Affected have been two mixed poultry flocks in Ardabil, and two more of ducks — one in Semnan and one in Mazandaram. All these provinces are located in the north of the country, on or near the Caspian Sea.

Two HPAI virus serotypes detected in Asian wild birds

Over the past month, presence of the H5N1 HPAI virus serotype has been confirmed in wild birds in China, India, Israel, and South Korea. Meanwhile, India and Japan have registered their first cases of the season that tested positive for the H5N8 serotype. These findings have been reported to the OIE. 

In early November, the H5N1 variant was detected following a mass mortality affecting around 200 cranes in the northwestern Indian state of Rajastan. This was followed soon afterwards by positive tests from a group of 77 crows found dead in the same state. 

In neighboring Madhya Pradesh, a number of birds of the same species were found dead at the end of November. They tested positive for the H5N8 HPAI virus.

In the middle of the month, a crane found dead in the Japanese city of Izumi tested positive for the same variant. 

Also during November, the H5N1 virus was detected in a group of 134 ducks in a natural park in China’s Hebei province, two wild birds in South Korea, and a pelican in Israel. 

China records one new human infection with avian influenza

On December 8, one new case of avian influenza A(H5N6) in China was reported by the Centre for Health Protection in Hong Kong.

Recently deceased was a 54-year-old woman from Zigong in Sichuan province. Before the onset of symptoms, she had been in contact with dead poultry. 

This latest patient brings to 52 the number of confirmed infections with this influenza virus type in mainland China since 2014.

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.

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