Avian flu spreads to new countries and threatens a “war” in the pens

The bird flu It has reached new corners of the planet and has become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn that it is now a year-round problem.

Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the prevalence of the virus in the wild indicates that unprecedented outbreaks will not subside anytime soon on poultry farms, increasing threats to the global food supply.

The sources warned that farmers should view the disease as a serious risk throughout the year, rather than focus prevention efforts on the spring migration seasons of wild birds.

Outbreaks of the virus have continued in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, relentlessly from summer heat or winter cold snaps, since a genetically similar strain arrived in the United States in early 2022. the cases of Europe and Asia.

Egg prices broke records after the disease wiped out tens of millions of chickens last year, putting a staple source of cheap protein out of reach for some of the world’s poorest at a time when the global economy shrank. reeling from high inflation.

According to experts, wild birds are primarily responsible for the spread of the virus. Waterfowl, such as ducks, can carry the disease without dying and introduce it into poultry through feces, saliva, and other contaminated media.

Farmers’ efforts to protect their flocks are falling short.

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Rose Acre Farms, the second-largest US egg producer, lost 1.5 million hens at a production facility in Guthrie County, Iowa last year, despite requiring all those entering the hatcheries to shower to remove any traces of the virus, according to chief executive Marcus Rust.

A company farm in Weld County, Colorado was infected twice in about six months, killing 3 million chickens, said Rust, who believes the virus was blown from the nearby fields where geese defecated.

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are some of the countries that have suffered record poultry losses in the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless.

“Bird flu is showing up even on a new poultry farm with modern equipment and no windows, so all we can do now is ask God to prevent an outbreak.said Shigeo Inaba, who raises chickens for meat in Ibaraki prefecture near Tokyo.

Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Rising levels of the virus in a wide range of aquatic and other wildlife species mean that free-range ones now face high risks throughout the year, experts say.

“It’s a new warsaid Bret Marsh, Indiana State Veterinarian. “It’s basically a 12 month vigil”.

In a sign the threat is expected to persist, Marsh is seeking funding from Indiana lawmakers to hire one more poultry veterinarian and poultry health specialist.

Indiana lost more than 200,000 turkeys and other birds last year, while the total number of deaths in the United States exceeds 58 million, according to government data, more than the previous record set in 2015.

The virus is often deadly to poultry, with entire flocks being culled when just one tests positive.

Vaccinations are not a simple solution: they can reduce but not eliminate the threat of the virus, making it more difficult to detect its presence in a group. Even so, Mexico and the EU are among the countries that vaccinate or study the possibility of doing so.

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Global problem

Wild birds have spread the disease farther around the world than ever before, likely carrying record amounts of the virus, according to Gregorio Torres, head of the scientific department at the World Organization for Animal Health, a Paris-based intergovernmental group, and a World authority on animal diseases.

The virus has changed from previous outbreaks to a form that is likely to be more transmissible, Torres told Reuters. “The disease is here to stay, at least in the short term,” she said.

Torres could not confirm that the virus is endemic in wild birds around the world, although other experts say it is in certain birds in places like the United States.

Although the virus can infect people, usually those who have contact with infected birds, the World Health Organization says the risk to humans is low.

The circulating strain of the virus is infecting a broader range of wild birds than before, including those that don’t migrate long distances, said David Suarez, acting director of the US government’s Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Georgia.

Bird Infectionsresidents” are helping the virus persist year-round when it didn’t before, he said.

Black vultures, which inhabit the southern United States and previously avoided infection, are now among the affected species, according to David Stallknecht, director of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.

The virus has also infected mammals such as foxes, bears, and seals.

“We all have to believe in miracles”, said Stallknecht, “but i really can’t see a scenario where it will disappear”.

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crossing borders

High virus levels in birds such as blue-winged teals, ducks that migrate long distances, helped spread the virus to new parts of South America, Stallknecht said.

Countries like PeruEcuador and Bolivia have recently reported cases.

Ecuador’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock imposed a three-month animal health emergency on November 29, two days after the first case was detected. To date, more than 1.1 million birds have died, according to official data.

The cases in Bolivia put the disease close to poultry giant Brazil.

“Everyone is focused on preventing the flu from reaching our countrysaid Gian Carlos Zacchi, a chicken farmer for the Aurora processor in Chapecó, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

Some experts suspect that climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering the habitats and migratory routes of wild birds.

“The dynamics of wild birds have changed, and that has allowed the viruses that live in them to change as well.”, says Carol Cardona, an expert in bird flu and a professor at the University of Minnesota.

Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare away wild birds, experts say.

In Rhode Island, Eli Berkowitz, an egg farmer and chief executive of Little Rhody Foods, sprayed goose poop in an aisle of his farm with Lysol disinfectant in case it contained the virus. He also limits visits to the farm, a more traditional precaution.

Berkowitz said he is preparing for March and April, when the migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

“You better buckle up and fight for your lives“, said.

Source: Reuters

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