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Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-pers...an-oct-23-2020
News Scan for Oct 23, 2020
Polio in 10 countries; Dutch H5N8 avian flu detections
Filed Under:
Polio; Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Ten countries add more cases to their polio totals
Ten countries reported a total of 87 new polio cases over the past week, including Afghanistan and Pakistan seven African nations, and Yemen, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
Afghanistan reported 1 more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case involving a patient from Kandahar province, raising its total for the year to 53. It also reported 14 more circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases in nine provinces, for a total of 91 cases for the year. Pakistan reported 2 more WPV1 cases, both in Balochistan province, boosting its 2020 total to 79.
All of the new African cases involved cVDPV2. Burkina Faso reported 21 more from 12 difference provinces, putting its total for the year at 38, all linked to outbreaks in Nigeria's Jigawa state and Togo's Savanes region. Sudan had 16 more cases in 9 different locations, lifting its 2020 total to 39. Ivory Coast confirmed 15 new cases in 13 provinces, making 48 cases for 2020.
These countries also reported more cVDPV2 cases:
Oct 22 GPEI update
H5N8 avian flu infects wild swans in the Netherlands
Dutch veterinary officials reported a highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu detections in two wild swans found dead in a wetland area near a village in Utrecht province in the central part of the country, according to a notification today from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreak began on Oct 17 and involved mute swans. So far the source of the virus isn’t known.
In a related development, the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) yesterday weighed in on the Netherlands' outbreak, noting that it occurred in the wake of recent H5N8 outbreaks in poultry and waterfowl in Russia and its neighbor Kazakhstan. It said mute swans don't migrate over long distances, so the infections in the Netherlands probably signal that the birds were exposed to the virus by migratory waterfowl.
DEFRA said the Netherlands has many more migratory birds this time of year than the United Kingdom has, but colder weather may encourage birds to move the British Isles. DEFRA officials raised the overall threat to UK wild birds to medium, though the risk to UK poultry still remains low. The agency urged poultry keepers to maintain or enhance their biosecurity measures.
Oct 23 OIE report on H5N8 in the Netherlands
Oct 22 DEFRA report
News Scan for Oct 23, 2020
Polio in 10 countries; Dutch H5N8 avian flu detections
Filed Under:
Polio; Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Ten countries add more cases to their polio totals
Ten countries reported a total of 87 new polio cases over the past week, including Afghanistan and Pakistan seven African nations, and Yemen, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
Afghanistan reported 1 more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case involving a patient from Kandahar province, raising its total for the year to 53. It also reported 14 more circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases in nine provinces, for a total of 91 cases for the year. Pakistan reported 2 more WPV1 cases, both in Balochistan province, boosting its 2020 total to 79.
All of the new African cases involved cVDPV2. Burkina Faso reported 21 more from 12 difference provinces, putting its total for the year at 38, all linked to outbreaks in Nigeria's Jigawa state and Togo's Savanes region. Sudan had 16 more cases in 9 different locations, lifting its 2020 total to 39. Ivory Coast confirmed 15 new cases in 13 provinces, making 48 cases for 2020.
These countries also reported more cVDPV2 cases:
- Ethiopia had 4 new cases in three provinces, bringing this year's total to 35.
- Mali reported 6 more cases in three provinces, for a total of 11 so far.
- Nigeria recorded 1 more case, in Delta state, increasing its total to 3 so far this year.
- Somalia confirmed 5 new cases in 5 provinces, making 9 so far this year.
Oct 22 GPEI update
H5N8 avian flu infects wild swans in the Netherlands
Dutch veterinary officials reported a highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu detections in two wild swans found dead in a wetland area near a village in Utrecht province in the central part of the country, according to a notification today from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreak began on Oct 17 and involved mute swans. So far the source of the virus isn’t known.
In a related development, the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) yesterday weighed in on the Netherlands' outbreak, noting that it occurred in the wake of recent H5N8 outbreaks in poultry and waterfowl in Russia and its neighbor Kazakhstan. It said mute swans don't migrate over long distances, so the infections in the Netherlands probably signal that the birds were exposed to the virus by migratory waterfowl.
DEFRA said the Netherlands has many more migratory birds this time of year than the United Kingdom has, but colder weather may encourage birds to move the British Isles. DEFRA officials raised the overall threat to UK wild birds to medium, though the risk to UK poultry still remains low. The agency urged poultry keepers to maintain or enhance their biosecurity measures.
Oct 23 OIE report on H5N8 in the Netherlands
Oct 22 DEFRA report