NEWS ON HPAI.

The bird flu virus has affected over a million geese in Taiwan ,with 200 outbreaks only last week. The 3 strains predominant are H5N2,H5N3,and H5N8. The virus has also affected man resulting in death in Egypt, Taiwan and HongKong,the deaths have occurred in people who had close contact with infected poultry,those who have living quarters in close proximity to poultry,those working live bird markets and also been linked to contact with infected persons. In a new twist the a human infection has been reported in Canada, in a person that recently returned from a trip to China. The best approach still is enhanced bio security protocol,its in your hands stop the bird flu virus.

BIRD FLU # THE WAY FORWARD.

The bird flu virus has affected more birds and man in certain countries, and all around the world hands are on deck to stop the virus. The basic concept is to educate the populace about the virus,the signs/symptoms,the bio security protocol that must be put in place to stop the virus and also what to do in cases of outbreak in poultry or infection in man. The approach is hygiene and isolation; ensuring that the proper agents are used correctly in bio security protocol. There are numerous agents used on farms,hospitals e.t.c to disinfect them,but the agent that readily comes to mind at this time of bird flu outbreak is VIRKON® S,as it has been proven to kill the bird flu virus among over pathogens. The issue of bio security is on going,more and more approaches to secure our farms have been birthed to help the farmers,in line with this i had a talk with some poultry farmers to educate them and give practical tips on how to handle the bird flu virus. When there is an outbreak, all the birds in the poultry / aviary/zoo will be culled and the place decontaminated and quarantined to prevent spread of the virus.In the wake of the bird flu virus saga,some birds in a zoo were infected,so all other birds in the facility had to be culled. We can stop the bird flu virus! start now!

AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has made its entrance into Nigeria,making its first appearance in Kano. The bird flu virus has been linked to cases of high mortality in poultry birds in 4 local government involving 10 farms. The affected farms have been quarantined, the birds destroyed and surveillance of farms and live bird market in the area is on-going, also an alert has been sent to other states in a bid to curb spread of virus. The bird flu virus crossed states to make a second appearance in Lagos state, the virus is believed to have made its way during the yuletide season when birds came into the state from the north. The resurgence of bird flu in Lagos occurred on a poultry farm in Badore area ,in Ajah. The virus killed most of the flock, the others have been destroyed and farm quarantined. There has also been high mortality in ducks, emu, geese in a zoological garden in V.G.C.,the garden is under surveillance as samples have been sent for confirmation. The resurgence of the bird flu in the country has been tackled with the following measures; 1) enhanced bio- security protocol on farms,live bird market, and poultry houses. 2) Active search surveillance. 3) Education of farmers and workers in poultry farms. 4) Disinfection/decontamination of farms and market. The bird flu virus occurred in Kano in 2006,2007,2008 and now 2015.The route of infection and perpetuation of the virus has been linked to migratory birds en-route that region,having access to water in farms,feed and contamination of bedding, as the virus shed in dropping of migratory bird is a contamination foci for domestic birds . The sanitary status on farms is also a factor in the spread. The feces of birds in contaminated farms should be disposed off and not as compost for fertilizer. The key to stopping the virus is high sanitary hygiene on farms, sheltering poultry to keep them away from wild birds, covering reservoir tanks of water to prevent contamination,also it will be necessary to give treated water on farms.This is another reason to incorporate VIRKON® S, in your bio-security protocol, to treat water on farm,to disinfect the farm equipment and use in foot dip. BE PROACTIVE! STEP UP BIO-SECURITY PROTOCOL! USE VIRKON® S.

HPAI; AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE.

The bird flu virus has been confirmed in a mixed back yard poultry in Kano,Nigeria.The veterinary authority has notified the OIE. The outbreak started on 2/1/15 at a backyard poultry in Kano district, a flock of 1,568 birds. The virus killed 1,370 of the birds and the rest of the flock has been destroyed to prevent spread. Be proactive! stop the bird flu virus!. use VIRKON® S now. Spread the word; use VIRKON® S.

Avian influenza: Emerging infectious disease.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)A virus subtype H5,have been circulating among poultry in several countries in Asia and Africa for many years. The HPAI virus have caused hundreds of infections in humans and has poised public health threat.This prompted the government of China to embark on mass vaccination of flock and culling of infected birds. The protocol was effective because the virus was curtailed,thus saving lives and preserving animal production lines, but it had some major disadvantages. The protocol is expensive, and the government is currently seeking ways to stop the mass vaccination.The key disadvantage was that subclinical levels of HPAI was found among vaccinated chicken,where the H5N1 had evolved into multiple H5N2 genotypes which are all vaccine-escape variants.(emerging infections journal vol 20. Num 12-Dec 2014) The vaccination played an important role at the onset,but resulted in production of other variants that are highly pathogenic and pose a more fatal threat .This clearly shows that vaccination of flock is not the way to combat the virus, rather education of the populace,bio security,surveillance,rapid diagnosis and culling/destruction of infected birds.