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News & Reports notifiable diseases
Avian influenza: biosecurity guidance on protecting poultry from wild birds DEFRA has published biosecurity guidance for the keepers of poultry and other birds to help them protect against the risk of avian influenza being introduced to their flocks by wild birds. The guidance, which was published on Defra’s website on November 25, follows confirmation earlier this month of a case of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza on a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire (VR, November 22, 2014, vol 175, pp 495-496). Defra said on November 25 that investigations into the source of the outbreak were continuing. It reiterated that the H5N8 strain of avian influenza virus was a ‘very low risk to public health and no risk to the food chain’. Six thousand ducks had been culled on the affected farm, and a 3 km protection zone and a 10 km surveillance zone remained in place. The biosecurity guidance can be downloaded from www.gov. uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/378182/
wild-bird-biosecurity-guidance.pdf. It describes the responsibilities of the keepers of birds and what the law requires them to do both within and outside the two control zones. It says that strict biosecurity measures, including housing birds indoors, are the best way of reducing the risk of the disease being introduced by wild birds. ‘If you can’t house all your birds indoors, you should do all you can to minimise the risk of contact with wild birds,’ it says, suggesting that erecting net structures to avoid contact with wild birds, or constructing temporary outdoor pens using straw bales and a tarpaulin roof with birdproof netted gaps for light and ventilation, could be alternative measures. However, it also notes that some birds, such as ostriches, captive wildfowl or geese, are not normally housed and that these types of temporary housing might not be practicable for these birds. In such cases, the guidance suggests, ‘the very minimum you should do is isolate their food and water from wild birds’.
The guidance consider measures that can be taken with different types of birds, including gamebirds, backyard flocks and zoological collections.
More cases in the Netherlands
Two further outbreaks of H5N8 avian influenza had been confirmed in the Netherlands by November 25, bringing the total number of cases there to three. The first of the two latest cases began in a flock of 43,000 layer hens on November 19 and was reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on November 21. The second new case affected 10,000 breeding poultry; it began on November 21 and was reported to the OIE on November 22. In both cases, all birds on the premises were culled. n Updates on the outbreak in the UK and more information about avian influenza are available at www.gov.uk/ avian-influenza-bird-flu doi: 10.1136/vr.g7248
November 29, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 521
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 1, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Avian influenza: biosecurity guidance on protecting poultry from wild birds Veterinary Record 2014 175: 521
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7248 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/21/521
These include:
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News & Reports notifiable diseases
Avian influenza: biosecurity guidance on protecting poultry from wild birds DEFRA has published biosecurity guidance for the keepers of poultry and other birds to help them protect against the risk of avian influenza being introduced to their flocks by wild birds. The guidance, which was published on Defra’s website on November 25, follows confirmation earlier this month of a case of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza on a duck breeding farm in Yorkshire (VR, November 22, 2014, vol 175, pp 495-496). Defra said on November 25 that investigations into the source of the outbreak were continuing. It reiterated that the H5N8 strain of avian influenza virus was a ‘very low risk to public health and no risk to the food chain’. Six thousand ducks had been culled on the affected farm, and a 3 km protection zone and a 10 km surveillance zone remained in place. The biosecurity guidance can be downloaded from www.gov. uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/378182/
wild-bird-biosecurity-guidance.pdf. It describes the responsibilities of the keepers of birds and what the law requires them to do both within and outside the two control zones. It says that strict biosecurity measures, including housing birds indoors, are the best way of reducing the risk of the disease being introduced by wild birds. ‘If you can’t house all your birds indoors, you should do all you can to minimise the risk of contact with wild birds,’ it says, suggesting that erecting net structures to avoid contact with wild birds, or constructing temporary outdoor pens using straw bales and a tarpaulin roof with birdproof netted gaps for light and ventilation, could be alternative measures. However, it also notes that some birds, such as ostriches, captive wildfowl or geese, are not normally housed and that these types of temporary housing might not be practicable for these birds. In such cases, the guidance suggests, ‘the very minimum you should do is isolate their food and water from wild birds’.
The guidance consider measures that can be taken with different types of birds, including gamebirds, backyard flocks and zoological collections.
More cases in the Netherlands
Two further outbreaks of H5N8 avian influenza had been confirmed in the Netherlands by November 25, bringing the total number of cases there to three. The first of the two latest cases began in a flock of 43,000 layer hens on November 19 and was reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on November 21. The second new case affected 10,000 breeding poultry; it began on November 21 and was reported to the OIE on November 22. In both cases, all birds on the premises were culled. n Updates on the outbreak in the UK and more information about avian influenza are available at www.gov.uk/ avian-influenza-bird-flu doi: 10.1136/vr.g7248
November 29, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 521
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 1, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Avian influenza: biosecurity guidance on protecting poultry from wild birds Veterinary Record 2014 175: 521
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7248 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/175/21/521
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
