How do HPAI outbreaks occur?

How do HPAI outbreaks occur? Usually with some type of contact with other birds. 

               Common biosecurity failures. 

 “People had some contact, whether wild birds and droppings, feathers or debris, or contact with backyard birds,” Rings explained. “Or it could be a lateral spread within a company where someone was not following procedures. 

Sometimes it isn’t direct, but accidental or indirect contact with birds or their products.” Then people fail to follow biosecurity procedures including the line of separation to divide the production side of a commercial poultry flock from the outside world. “It’s using dedicated farm clothing or footwear,” he continued. 

“Disposable coveralls and plastic boots are a form of dedicated clothing. It’s having inside and outside boots and using those exclusively in each location. “It can be improper house entry procedures like not doing a boot change; not using a proper foot bath, which may be dirty or empty; and not using hand sanitizer and equipment sanitation,” 

Rings said. Keeping HPAI out of a flock also includes monitoring visitors and service people, and making sure everyone follows biosecurity protocols. In the end, biosecurity is everyone’s job. “Every person has a place at the table,” he added. “But growers are the ultimate guardians of their farm. They are on duty 24/7…to prevent and block any disease coming on their farm that would devastate their flock and livelihood.”

Avian flu: Virus with an Eggshell.

Avian flu: Virus with an Eggshell. Avian flu can be transmitted from birds to humans; transmission among humans, however, is limited. The reason may be an eggshell-like mineral layer that the virus acquires due to the high calcium concentration in the intestines of birds. As reported by Chinese researchers in the journal Angewandte Chemie, these mineralized viruses are significantly more infectious and, in addition, more robust and heat stable than the native viruses. Avian flu is a highly infectious disease among birds that has developed into a serious threat to human health. Close contact with diseased birds or their feces is considered to be the primary source of infections in humans. Transmission between humans is limited, however, which indicates that these viruses cannot directly infect humans. Previously it was assumed that these viruses crossed the species barrier as a result of mutation or recombination with another pathogen. More recent results demonstrate that avian flu viruses isolated from infected humans have the same gene sequences as those from birds.Avian flu: Virus with an Eggshell. So how is it that humans catch the disease from birds? Researchers working with Ruikang Tang at Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China) claim that it is because the viruses acquire a mineral "shell" in the bird intestines. They discovered that viruses can become mineralized under calcium-rich conditions. Naturally, the digestive tract of birds--the primary location of avian flu viruses--provides just such a calcium-rich environment, so that the birds can make egg shells.Avian flu: Virus with an Eggshell. Experiments with a solution that imitates the bird intestine environment allowed the researchers to demonstrate that 5 to 6 nm shells of a calcium phosphate mineral form around H9N2 and H1N1 viruses. In both cell cultures and mice, these mineralized viruses proved to be significantly more infectious--and deadly--than the native viruses. In humans, avian flu viruses infect the airways and are then found in bodily fluids, where the calcium concentration is too low for mineralization.

Telecommunication: Northern Ireland launches avian flu text alert service.

Northern Ireland launches avian flu text alert service.New service designed to inform poultry keepers of disease outbreaks.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a new text alert service to inform poultry producers of any disease outbreaks. 

 The new system ‘goes live’ as Northern Ireland Chief Veterinary Officer for Robert Huey urges farmers and other bird keepers to remain vigilant to the threat of avian influenza as the migratory cycle begins.

Poultry industry divided over bird flu vaccine

Poultry industry divided over bird flu vaccine