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Avian Influenza Daily Digest
September 3, 2008 14:00 GMT
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Article Summaries ...
Quid Novi
Reported AI Outbreak in Southern Sudan Concerns Authorities in Neighboring Countries
Indonesia: AI-positive Human case reported in East Java
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Pakistan: Birds of a feather
9/3/08 Daily Times/Pakistan--The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), in collaboration with the ?Cage Bird Society of Pakistan?, organised on Sunday a bird show at its campus.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodia: US Holds Bird Flu Training for Veterinarians
9/3/08 CAAI News--The US government launched a series of training courses for Cambodian veterinarians Tuesday, in an effort to prevent an outbreak of deadly avian influenza.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
EU ends 6-year ban on Chinese poultry imports
9/3/08 World Poultry.Net--The European Union has lifted a six-year import ban on Chinese poultry effective immediately, according to foreign media reports.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Thailand: Livestock Department urged to tackle possible avian influenza outbreaks
9/1/08 Thai News Service--The Director-General of the Livestock Department Sakchai Sriboonsue reveals that the department has been implementing avian flu control measures as well as organizing poultry raising systems nationwide.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Science and Technology
Influenza A Virus Infections in Land Birds, People?s Republic of China
9/3/08 CDC/EID--[full text pdf]Water birds are considered the reservoir for avian influenza viruses. We examined this assumption by sampling and real-time reverse transcription?PCR testing of 939 Asian land birds of 153 species. Influenza A infection was found, particularly among migratory species. Surveillance programs for monitoring spread of these viruses need to be redesigned.
AI Research
USDA renews funding for work on PRRS, avian influenza
9/2/08 USDA--The Department of Agriculture has renewed funding for the coordinated agricultural projects focusing on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome and on avian influenza.
AI Research
Full Text of Articles follow ...
Quid Novi
Reported AI Outbreak in Southern Sudan Concerns Authorities in Neighboring Countries
9/3/08 ARGUS--Authorities in Kenya have banned the movement of live birds and chickens into the country through Malaba and Busia in response to an outbreak of avian influenza in Southern Sudan. Livestock ministry officials are certain the AI will enter the county after news of the presence of the disease in neighboring Sudan. While no cases have been reported in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania, authorities hope to remove the risk of a regional pandemic by banning the transportation of poultry on trucks.
Article URL(s)
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809010259.html
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Pakistan: Birds of a feather
9/3/08 Daily Times/Pakistan--The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), in collaboration with the ?Cage Bird Society of Pakistan?, organised on Sunday a bird show at its campus.
The show played host to birds brought by people from across the country, with several species, including peacocks, parrots, sparrows. Doves, pigeons and ducks showcased at the event. Many citizens, along with their families, enthusiastically participated in the show.
?Budgerigar Society of Pakistan? (BSP) General Secretary Naveed Ijaz told Daily Times that a number of rare birds were in danger as the government had issued hunting licences for them. He said that keeping birds as pets was a healthy activity and that several species of birds could be saved by breeding them at homes. He also said that it was a tragedy that people were keeping foreign birds at home whilst neglecting the country?s local species.
?Cage Bird Society? (CBS) Senior General Secretary Rana Amir told Daily Times that his organisation had been working for birds? rights and had met several senior officials in an attempt to ban bird hunting. He said that strict action had been taken based on his complaint, however, it had been a temporary respite and hunting had resumed again. He also said that the CBS was organising lectures in universities regarding birds and the advantages of keeping them at home.
Khalid Hussain, a member of the National Bird Society, told Daily Times that thousands of birds had been killed over the past year during the bird flu scare. He explained that bird flu was a disease that only affected poultry and some rare wild bird species, adding that birds kept at homes were not susceptible to it.
Curriculum: A number of veterinary science students expressed concern about the birds and said that their curriculum did not include enough knowledge about the winged creature. They demanded that a special portion for bird studies be included in the curriculum so that species which were in danger of extinction could be preserved. Asif Shoukat, a student at UVAS, told Daily Times that he felt that the portion regarding bird education was not specific and it did not meet with professional requirements.
Saniya, another student, said that many foreign countries offered specialisations in bird studies, however, no such programmes were available here. She said that there was a need to include education on birds in the local syllabus. She also said that due to the environmental problems, and pollution, rare birds were in danger, and condemned the Environment Department for its poor performance.
Parrots: Organisers of the occasion had arranged a parrot show, in which many people participated and showed off their pets. Muhammad Waseem, a participant of the show, told Daily Times that he had 25 parrots and he had entered all of them for display during the show.
Rizwan Ali, another participant, said that he had many rare species of parrots. He said that while it was his hobby to keep birds, he was considering turning it into a business.
Stalls: Different societies working for birds and the ?Vets Care Club? (VCC) of the UVAS had also organised special stalls on the occasion. A number of people visited the stalls and consulted about different diseases, that could affect parrots and other domesticated birds.
AI Research
Influenza A Virus Infections in Land Birds, People?s Republic of China
9/3/08 CDC/EID--[full text pdf]Water birds are considered the reservoir for avian influenza viruses. We examined this assumption by sampling and real-time reverse transcription?PCR testing of 939 Asian land birds of 153 species. Influenza A infection was found, particularly among migratory species. Surveillance programs for monitoring spread of these viruses need to be redesigned.
Avian influenza virus ecology has long regarded waterbirds as a primary reservoir. Although the benchmark study detailed prevalences across all taxa (1), subsequent studies have focused exclusively on waterbirds (2) with few exceptions (3,4). We reexamined these assumptions on the basis of a broad sampling of bird diversity in Southeast Asia, where bird-borne influenza viruses are of particular concern (5). We sampled and tested diverse land birds for influenza A virus infection and showed that land birds also harbor infections with these viruses. Birds in these taxa are not irrelevant in virus transmission and should form an integral part of avian influenza surveillance and monitoring programs.
The Study
During 2004?2007, as part of a broader biodiversity survey and inventory program, we sampled birds from mostly forested sites in Guangxi and Guizhou Provinces in the southern part of the People?s Republic of China (Figure). Sampling was conducted by mist netting and selective harvesting with shotguns; all birds in the study were apparently healthy and behaving normally at the time of collection. Because initial sampling was focused on endoparasite communities, samples from 2004?2005 consisted of complete gastrointestinal tracts frozen in liquid nitrogen. In 2006?2007, sampling was conducted specifically for viruses. Cloacal swabs were collected in 2006 and buccal?cloacal swabs were collected in 2007. All swabs were preserved in 95% ethanol.
A total of 184 samples were collected from Jing Xi municipality in Guangxi (21.122°N, 105.964°E) in 2004, 130 from Shiwandashan Nature Reserve in Guangxi (21.840°N, 107.880°E) in 2005, 103 from Dashahe Nature Reserve in Guizhou (29.167°N, 107.575°E) in 2006, 194 from Kuan Kuoshui Nature Reserve in Guizhou (28.226°N, 107.160°E) in 2006, and 328 from Shuipu village, Guizhou Province (25.485°N, 107.882°E) in 2007 (Figure). Samples were tested for influenza A virus by real-time reverse transcription?PCR (6) in 2 diagnostic laboratories (Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US Department of Agriculture, Athens, GA, USA, and National Wildlife Health Center, US Geological Survey, Madison, WI, USA).
Of 939 samples tested, 24 were positive for influenza A viruses (prevalence 2.3%) (Table; complete summary in Appendix Table). If migratory behavior (species classified as migratory or nonmigratory on the basis of descriptions by MacKinnon and Phillipps [7]), was considered, 11 (4.8%) of 231 samples from species showing marked seasonal migrations were influenza positive. However, only 13 (1.8%) of 708 samples from nonmigratory species were positive. The cumulative binomial probability that such a high number (11) of positive samples would result among the 231 migratory-species samples, were the true prevalence to be 1.8%, is low (p = 0.0013). Thus, migratory species appear to have higher influenza infection rates. In terms of general habitat use (7), open-country species were slightly more prone to be influenza positive (8 [2.9%] of 274 samples) than forest species (16 [2.4%] of 665 samples), but the difference was not significant (cumulative binomial probability, p>0.05). Interactions between migratory behavior and habitat use were not significant (contingency test, p>0.05). Although all infections detected were among songbirds (Passeriformes), the sampling also concentrated on songbirds (94.3%). Thus, we could not test adequately the hypothesis that influenza prevalence was equivalent between songbirds and other birds.
An obvious question is whether the influenza A viruses we detected belong to the highly pathogenic subtype H5N1 strain currently circulating across much of Asia. All samples were negative for the H5 subtype by real-time reverse transcription?PCR (6), although this result does not exclude the possibility that H5 viruses were among the positive samples. The preservation status of samples we tested prevented virus isolation or full, strain-level characterization of influenza viruses.
Conclusions
The subtype H5N1 strain of influenza virus has spread rapidly and has been detected across much of central and southern Eurasia. Although movements of wild birds have been implicated in this spread (8), other studies question (9,10) or contradict (11) this idea. An important part of the argument centers on the question of the occurrence of the virus in wild birds without obvious illness, which can be difficult to interpret given the low prevalence of influenza. For instance, a recent study based on sampling >13,000 migratory birds in China detected the subtype H5N1 strain of influenza virus only 8 times (12), and similar results have been obtained elsewhere (2). Our study, although not successful in characterizing influenza viruses to specific strains, nonetheless shows that influenza A virus infection occurs in more bird species than previously assumed and that influenza A infections can be found in birds that behave normally and show no sign of illness.
Although a review of avian influenza virus ecology (1) discussed the occurrence of influenza viruses across all groups of birds (and other vertebrates), subsequent studies have assumed that waterbirds are the primary reservoir (8,13,14). In this study, a broad sample of land birds yielded frequent influenza-positive results. Although waterbirds could have higher prevalences, we have demonstrated broad occurrence of influenza viruses in diverse taxa of Passeriformes (songbirds) in Southeast Asia. This result suggests that land birds may also be a major reservoir of influenza viruses.
We have taken a step toward a more complete understanding of influenza virus ecology among wild birds. Our partial survey of influenza virus distributions across the rich avifaunas of the southern region of China demonstrated frequent infections. This result contrasts with the current dogma in the influenza surveillance community. We suggest that to be effective future surveillance efforts will need to include the full diversity of wild birds.
Acknowledgments
We thank our numerous field companions, particularly ornithologists B. W. Benz, R. L. Boyd, D. H. Clayton, T. Davis, Á. S. Nyári, and M. B. Robbins, for their assistance and hard work; G. Chen for organizing all logistics and obtaining permits for sampling trips; D. H. Clayton for assisting with sampling birds for influenza; and S. Lee, J. Beck, K Griffin, and E. Sorley for assisting with sample processing and virus testing.
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant DEB-0344430 to A.T.P and colleagues), the Avian Influenza Current Research Information System project (no. 6612-32000-048-00D to E.S. and D.E.S.) and the National Biological Information Infrastructure of the US Department of the Interior.
Dr Peterson is professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Biodiversity Institute of the University of Kansas. His research interests include many aspects of geographic distributions of species, including the geography and ecology of filoviruses and other disease systems.
References
1. Webster RG, Bean WJ, Gorman OT, Chambers TM, Kawaoka Y. Evolution and ecology of influenza A viruses. Microbiol Rev. 1992;56:152?79. PubMed
2. Winker K, McCracken KG, Gibson DD, Pruett CL, Meier R, Huettmann F, et al. Movements of birds and avian influenza from Asia into Alaska. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:547?52. PubMed
3. Kou Z, Lei FM, Yu J, Fan ZJ, Yin ZH, Jia CX, et al. New genotype of avian influenza H5N1 viruses isolated from tree sparrows in China. J Virol. 2005;79:15460?6. PubMed DOI: 10.1128/JVI.79.24.15460-15466.2005
4. Boon AC, Sandbulte MR, Seiler P, Webby RJ, Songserm T, Guan Y, et al. Role of terrestrial wild birds in ecology of influenza A virus (H5N1). Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:1720?4. PubMed
5. Boyce W. Earth monitoring: vigilance is not enough. Nature. 2007;450:791?2. PubMed DOI: 10.1038/450791a
6. Spackman E, Senne DA, Myers TJ, Bulaga LL, Garber LP, Perdue ML, et al. Development of a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay for type A influenza virus and the avian H5 and H7 hemagglutinin subtypes. J Clin Microbiol. 2002;40:3256?60. PubMed DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3256-3260.2002
7. MacKinnon J, Phillipps K. A field guide to the birds of China. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press; 2000.
8. Taubenberger JK, Morens DM. Influenza revisited. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1?2. PubMed
9. Melville DS, Shortridge KF. Spread of H5N1 avian influenza virus: an ecological conundrum. Lett Appl Microbiol. 2006;42:435?7. PubMed DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765X.2006.01892.x
10. Kilpatrick AM, Chmura AA, Gibbons DW, Fleischer RC, Marra PP, Daszak P. Predicting the global spread of H5N1 avian influenza. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006;103:19368?73. PubMed DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0609227103
11. BirdLife International. BirdLife statement on avian influenza. Cambridge (UK): BirdLife International; 2006 [cited 2008 Jul 23]. Available from http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/avian_flu
12. Chen HX, Shen HG, Li XL, Zhou JY, Hou YQ, Guo JQ, et al. Seroprevalance and identification of influenza A virus infection from migratory wild waterfowl in China (2004?2005). J Vet Med B Infect Dis Vet Public Health. 2006;53:166?70. PubMed DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0450.2006.00940.x
13. Olsen B, Munster VJ, Wallensten A, Waldenström J, Osterhause AD, Fouchier RA. Global patterns of Influenza A virus in wild birds. Science. 2006;312:384?8. PubMed DOI: 10.1126/science.1122438
14. Webster RG, Peiris M, Chen H, Guan Y. H5N1 outbreaks and enzootic influenza. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:3?8. PubMed
Quid Novi
Indonesia: AI-positive Human case reported in East Java
9/3/08 ARGUS--International and national sources report that, according to a local health official on Saturday [30 August], between January-August 2008 in Malang district (East Java province), 5 avian influenza (AI) suspects were detected, and one of them was confirmed positively infected with the "type-A" AI virus. The confirmed patient was a 47 year-old resident of Bululawang. The date of confirmation, lab testing, and demographic information of the patient was not reported.
Malang health authorities had recorded 10 AI-related cases and 13 occurrences in August [2008] when a number of poultry had died. A Malang animal husbandry official said most of the AI-infected areas were poultry farms where the environment was "not clean." The official said a total of 1,189 poultry died during the period January-August 2008. Most of the AI cases occurred in 9 sub-districts: Pagak, Wonosari, Tumpang, Sumberpucung, Kepanjen, Pakis, Bululawang, Gondanglegi, and Pagelaran.
Article URL(s)
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/8/30/five-bird-flu-suspects-detected-in-malang/
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/8/30/five-bird-flu-suspects-detected-in-malang
http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=586131
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Cambodia: US Holds Bird Flu Training for Veterinarians
9/3/08 CAAI News--The US government launched a series of training courses for Cambodian veterinarians Tuesday, in an effort to prevent an outbreak of deadly avian influenza.
The US Department of Agriculture will conduct laboratory training to help Cambodian health professionals diagnose the virus early.
Ninety veterinarians from 24 provinces will participate in the 10-day training courses.
Rural veterinarians have an important role in preventing an outbreak of the disease, so they need to understand how to diagnose it and prevent an outbreak, including methods of reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture, said Dr. Kao Phal, director-general of the department of animal health and production of the ministry.
The training was in response to the needs of Cambodian veterinarians, who were asking for more knowledge of the disease, said Um Bunna, an agricultural scientist and poultry health specialist for the US Department of Agriculture.
Kim An, a veterinarian from Kep, said Tuesday the training was important for him to monitor the disease from his rural base. He planned to share his experiences with other veterinarians, villagers and authorities.
Seven Cambodians have so far died from bird flu, four in Kampot province, and one each in Kampong Speu, Prey Veng and Kampong Cham provinces.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
EU ends 6-year ban on Chinese poultry imports
9/3/08 World Poultry.Net--The European Union has lifted a six-year import ban on Chinese poultry effective immediately, according to foreign media reports.
Nine Chinese poultry companies, all located in the country's eastern Shandong Province, have been approved to export heat-treated poultry meat products to the EU. According to the Shandong provincial department of foreign trade, total poultry exports from China to the EU could reach 100,000 tons, or $1 billion in sales.
The EU banned imports of Chinese poultry in 2004, following an outbreak of bird flu. Authorities have inspected poultry companies in Shandong Province for bird flu prevention, drug residue and sanitation during heat treatment.
The EU continues to uphold an 11-year ban on imports of US poultry, despite reports earlier this year that it could be lifted.
Regional Reporting and Surveillance
Thailand: Livestock Department urged to tackle possible avian influenza outbreaks
9/1/08 Thai News Service--The Director-General of the Livestock Department Sakchai Sriboonsue reveals that the department has been implementing avian flu control measures as well as organizing poultry raising systems nationwide.
Mr. Sakchai says scores of poultries and over 10 million open-range ducks have been raised for economic purpose in the northern part of Thailand. He says poultry farming, particularly ducks, helps farmers gain stable incomes from exports to neighboring countries.
Mr. Sakchai adds that due to the high concentration of duck populations, many zones in the region are at risk of avian influenza outbreaks. To prevent possible epidemics, a number of ducks will be raised in hygienic farming systems.
To support the duck export business, Mr. Sakchai says duck farming cooperatives where farmers can find loans with low interests will be established.
At the same time, Mr. Phairot Hengsaengchai, the Director of Disease Control and Veterinary Services Department, says most duck farmers are experiencing losses from their business, and some are reluctant to accept solutions proposed by local authorities. He urged the Livestock Department to tackle the problem at once.
AI Research
USDA renews funding for work on PRRS, avian influenza
9/2/08 USDA--The Department of Agriculture has renewed funding for the coordinated agricultural projects focusing on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome and on avian influenza.
The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service will devote $4.8 million over four years to the PRRS CAP and $5 million over three years to the AI CAP.
According to CSREES, PRRS affects about 60 percent of U.S. swine herds and costs the U.S. swine industry about $580 million annually.
"A new strain of highly pathogenic PRRS has been found in China and Vietnam and is implicated as the primary cause of porcine high-fever disease, resulting in the death of large numbers of swine," noted Gale Buchanan, USDA undersecretary for research, education, and economics. "Renewal of the PRRS project responds to the urgent need to make sure the right tools are available to keep this foreign strain from affecting the U.S. swine population."
The University of Minnesota led the first phase of the PRRS CAP, which started in 2004. The project brought together researchers, veterinarians, producers, and industry to study the PRRS virus and develop tools for controlling infection.
Kansas State University will lead the second phase of the CAP. The focus will be on prevention and control tools, knowledge to support scientists, application of existing and new technologies in regional disease-eradication efforts, and development of educational and outreach programs.
The coordinated agricultural project on avian influenza began in 2005, with the University of Maryland leading the first phase. The project created a multidisciplinary team of researchers and extension specialists from 17 states. The University of Maryland also will lead the second phase of the AI CAP.
The project has focused on areas such as epidemiology, basic research, diagnostics, vaccines, and education. Since 2005, AI CAP participants have:
* assembled a continent-wide network to study the ecologic and biologic characteristics of avian influenza viruses from wild birds
* integrated research and education into a program available to a range of poultry producers
* found that quail can change and expand the host range of AI viruses and that quail respiratory and intestinal tracts have humanlike sialic acid receptors that could partially explain the emergence of AI strains with the capacity to infect humans
* developed a comprehensive program to train producers and veterinarians on the depopulation and composting of flocks with avian influenza
* developed a testing component for rapid diagnosis of AI in birds
* developed promising vaccines for mass vaccination of birds
The PRRS and AI coordinated agricultural projects receive funding through the CSREES National Research Initiative. The initiative provides grants for research, education, and extension efforts to help address agricultural issues of national and regional importance.
