China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Emergency jabs planned to halt suspected H5N1

Ting Shi

Sep 17, 2007

Guangdong will embark on an emergency poultry vaccination programme following a suspected outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a Guangzhou village that prompted a massive duck cull.


http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCM...360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=China&s=News

(subscription)

credits Christian

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

China confirms H5N1 strain of bird flu among ducks

The Associated Press
Monday, September 17, 2007


HONG KONG: China's Agriculture Ministry has confirmed a suspected outbreak of H5N1 bird flu among ducks in southern China, Hong Kong's health secretary said Monday.
Deaths were reported on five farms in the Panyu district near Hong Kong starting Sept. 5. At least 9,830 ducks have since been reported dead, with tests on tissue samples at a provincial government lab showing the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, the Agriculture Ministry said Sunday.
Hong Kong health secretary York Chow said late Monday the Agriculture Ministry has confirmed the cases as H5N1 bird flu.
As of Sept. 14, about 32,630 ducks had been slaughtered in an attempt to contain the outbreak.
China, which raises more poultry than any other country in the world, has vowed an aggressive fight against H5N1, which has sickened at least 328 people worldwide, killing 200 of them, according to the World Health Organization.
China has reported 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003, 16 of them fatal.
Experts have warned that if poultry outbreaks are not controlled, the virus may mutate into a form more easily passed between people, potentially resulting in millions of deaths.
Chow said Hong Kong will suspend chilled and frozen duck and geese from southern Guangdong province, where Panyu is located, for a week.
He said Hong Kong and Guangdong officials will also jointly inspect local farms that supply live chicken to Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will suspend live poultry and bird imports from farms located within a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius of the site of the outbreak for three weeks.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=7533186

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=44>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Title[/FONT]</TD><TD width=10>:</TD><TD width=546>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]China confirms bird flu outbreak: HK official [/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD width=44>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By[/FONT]</TD><TD width=10>:</TD><TD width=546>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD width=44>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Date[/FONT]</TD><TD width=10>:</TD><TD width=546>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]17 September 2007 2128 hrs (SST) [/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD width=44>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]URL[/FONT]</TD><TD width=10>:</TD><TD width=546>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/300394/1/.html [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE borderColor=#cccccc cellSpacing=5 borderColorDark=#cccccc cellPadding=3 width=600 align=center borderColorLight=#cccccc border=1><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HONG KONG: China's agricultural ministry has confirmed an outbreak of bird flu among ducks in the south of the country, Hong Kong's health secretary announced Monday.

The ministry said Saturday that 9,830 ducks had died in a village outside the southern city of Guangzhou, not far from the border with Hong Kong, between September 5 and 13.

Hong Kong Health Secretary York Chow told reporters late Monday, citing the Chinese ministry, that the ducks had tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus.

Chow said the former British colony had immediately slapped a 21-day ban on imports of all live poultry, eggs and chilled or frozen meat from farms near the affected area on the mainland.

A ban on the import of such products from Guangdong province will remain in effect for a week, Chow said.

About 100,000 ducks were culled by local officials on Monday in a bid to keep the outbreak from spreading to other districts, Hong Kong media reported.

Bird flu has so far infected at least 25 people in China, including 16 who later died.

China conducted a huge campaign last year to contain the disease, slaughtering tens of thousands of poultry and stepping up public education efforts.

Yu Yedong, director of the Guangdong Animal Epidemic Prevention Centre, told the Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper, that the ducks had been vaccinated against the virus.

He added a first vaccination was only 65 per cent effective and the birds needed a second to make it 90 per cent effective. Yu told the paper he believed the birds were infected after the first vaccination.

Ho Pak-leung, an expert in infectious diseases at Hong Kong University, told the Standard there were fears the virus had now mutated.

H5N1 has killed 200 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.

Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily spread among humans, leading to a global pandemic with the potential to kill millions. - AFP/ac
[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Emergency jabs planned to halt suspected H5N1

Ting Shi

Sep 17, 2007

Guangdong will embark on an emergency poultry vaccination programme following a suspected outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a Guangzhou village that prompted a massive duck cull.


http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCM...360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=China&s=News

(subscription)

credits Christian

9/17/07 South China Post--Water birds have long been seen by scientists as important indicators of the nature of the H5N1 bird flu virus, considered capable of causing the next global pandemic if the virus mutates to spread easily among humans. The deaths of thousands of ducks in mysterious circumstances in neighbouring Guangdong province has therefore to be a matter of serious concern for Hong Kong.
Ducks have been determined to be the "trojan horse" of H5N1 in Asia. In 2005, experts concluded that they were responsible for the spread of the virus because they do not succumb to it as readily as other birds. Vaccination programmes have been adopted. But ensuring every bird is treated is difficult when, next to chickens, they are the most popular backyard fowl in the region.
Vietnam has learned this to its cost. After no cases being reported for 17 months, the virus returned in May and has since been declared endemic in the country. Unvaccinated ducks have been pinpointed as the cause. The latest outbreak in Guangdong is therefore a cause for serious concern, as the mainland has adopted vaccination programmes similar to those in Vietnam.
By contrast, soon after the first human deaths from H5N1 occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, the city adopted central slaughtering of ducks and geese. It also introduced stringent bio-security measures, surveillance and monitoring from farms to markets. After the last outbreak in 2003, vaccination of chickens with appropriate testing and use of sentinel birds was adopted.
Hong Kong is small in size and therefore easy to police; the same is not true of the mainland. With many households in Guangdong raising a few chickens and ducks, vaccinating every bird is a gargantuan task. The job is made even more difficult in that each bird needs to be vaccinated twice to ensure it is properly protected. Equally as challenging is storing the vaccines at the right temperature so that they do not spoil or preventing them from being contaminated through mishandling.
Since 2003, H5N1 has re-emerged in Asia with a vengeance, claiming dozens of lives and spreading to Europe, the Middle East and Africa through migrating birds and the poultry trade. Prevention and rapid response when outbreaks occur are therefore extremely important. But no matter how stringent the efforts or affluent the society, the risks of an ever-evolving virus such as H5N1 remain, as has been shown by the several outbreaks among chickens in Japan.
Tests on several wild birds found dead in Hong Kong this year determined that they were carrying H5N1. With initial tests on the ducks in Guangdong pointing to them also having the virus, it is clear that there is a need for defences to be strengthened. The warnings from scientists and health officials that millions of people could die if it can more readily jump the species from birds to humans must be heeded.
While Hong Kong has taken the warnings to heart, it is clear that more has to be done. For one, a long called-for central slaughtering house for poultry has still not eventuated. Building this facility must be a priority. In the meantime, there is a far more pressing need - immediately stopping all imports of frozen ducks and geese from the mainland.
Several days will lapse before the tests on the dead ducks can be confirmed. But Hong Kong cannot afford to risk the infection spreading through the food chain. Only by maintaining the highest vigilance can we hope to keep the virus at bay.

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=490 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>September 17, 2007</TD></TR><TR><TD>Bird flu
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=496>Anti-bird flu measures imposed as outbreak verified


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=theme_text vAlign=top align=left>The Government has imposed precautionary measures after the confirmation of an avian influenza outbreak at a Panyu farm in Guangdong. They include the 21-day import suspension of live poultry, birds, day-old chicks, poultry eggs, and chilled and frozen meat from farms within 24 kilometres of the outbreak location.

As the case involves waterfowl, the Government will also suspend duck, goose and goose egg imports from Guangdong for one week.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow said tonight no human bird flu infection has been reported, adding that the outbreak is an isolated case. He said the Government will liaise closely with Mainland authorities and both sides have agreed to hold daily exchanges on the latest situation.

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department, in conjunction with Mainland authorities, will inspect registered farms supplying live chickens to Hong Kong. Other government departments and Mainland authorities will enhance inspections to detect any illegal importation of poultry. Inspection and surveillance of hygiene conditions at poultry farms, and wholesale and retail markets will also be enhanced.

The arrangement announced last week to lift the chicken supply ceiling will be withdrawn.

Dr Chow said as Hong Kong and Guangdong are very close people should remain vigilant to reduce the risk of avian influenza.

http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070917/txt/070917en05005.htm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/09170702/H5N1_Guangdong_Ducks.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Follow-up report No.: 7​

Report reference: , OIE Ref: 6213, Report Date: 15/09/2007, Country: China (People's Rep. of)​

Report Summary​

Disease​

​

​

Highly pathogenic avian influenza Animal type Terrestrial​

Causal Agent​

​

​

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus Serotype(s) H5N1​

Clinical Signs​

​

​

Yes Reason Reoccurrence of a listed disease​

Date of confirmation of Event​

​

​

19/04/2006 Date of Start of Event 13/04/2006​

Date of report​

​

​

15/09/2007 Date Submitted To OIE 17/09/2007​

Diagnosis​

​

​

Suspicion, Clinical, Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced), Necropsy Date Of Last Occurrence 03/2006​

Number of reported outbreaks​

​

​

Submitted= 10, Draft= 0 Name of Sender of the report Mr Jia Youling​

Address​

​

​

Ministry of Agriculture BEIJING Position National Chief Veterinary Officer​

Telephone​

​

​

(86-10) 641 928 33 / 641 928 28 Fax (86-10) 641 924 68 ou 928 69​

Email​

​

​

xmjwjch@agri.gov.cn Entered by Mme Margarita Alonso​

Outbreak (this report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

GUANGDONG Panyu Village Sixian 23,05 113,42 05/09/2007​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 32630 9830 9830 22800 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

ducks​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

HUNAN Tuojiang Village Shijiping 28,02 109,54 12/05/2007​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 20800 12480 11172 9628 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

ducklings​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

TIBET Lhassa Village Chengguan 29,75 91 01/03/2007​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 7670 680 680 6990 0
Printed on: Mon Sep 17 15:57:05 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 1/5​

Affected Population​

​

​

chickens​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

TIBET Not applicable Dangxiong 31,7338 87,2254 26/05/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 57 57 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

Migratory birds​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

TIBET Not applicable Lhasa 31,6319 88,3465 26/05/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 28 28 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

Migratory birds​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

TIBET Not applicable Naqu (district) 31,9376 89,2637 21/05/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 2579 2579 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

300 bar-headed geese, 65 widgeons, 6 crows, 6 hawks, 1 black-necked crane and 82 other wild birds.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

QINGHAI Not applicable Guolou (district) 35,3008 96,4995 21/05/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 451 451 0 0​

Affected Population​

235 bar-headed geese, 5 brown-headed gulls, 23 ruddy shelducks, 9 grebes, 3 owls, 1 black-neck crane, 6 common cormorants, 1 grassland vulture and 2 condors.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

QINGHAI Not applicable Yushu (county) 35,6065 95,8881 23/04/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 533 533 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

404 bar-headed geese, 3 brown-headed gulls, 4 ruddy shelducks, 1 tern, 6 grebes, 1 egret, 2 goosanders, 2 Casmerodius.
Follow-up report No.: 7. Report reference: , OIE Ref: 6213, Report Date: 15/09/2007, Country: China (People's Rep. of)
Printed on: Mon Sep 17 15:57:06 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 2/5​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

LIAONING Not applicable Panjin 39 121 13/04/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 1 1 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

A magpie and a wild duck found dead.​

Outbreak (other report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

LIAONING Not applicable Jinzhou 39,1 121,7 13/04/2006​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Wild species Animals ... 1 1 0 0​

Affected Population​

​

​

A magpie and a wild duck found dead.​

Outbreak summary: Total outbreaks = 10 (Submitted)​

Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds 61100 22990 21682 39418 0
Wild species 3650 3650 0 0​

Epidemiology​

Epidemiological comments Source of Infection​

​

​

? Unknown or inconclusive​

Control Measures​

? Movement control inside the country
? Screening
? Vaccination in response to the outbreak (s)​

Applied​

​

​

? Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
? Quarantine
? Stamping out
? Control of wildlife reservoirs
? Zoning​

To be applied​

​

​

? No Planned Control Measures​

Animals treated​

​

​

No​

Vaccination Prohibited​

​

​

No​

Country / Zone​

Country or zone​

​

​

the whole country
Follow-up report No.: 7. Report reference: , OIE Ref: 6213, Report Date: 15/09/2007, Country: China (People's Rep. of)
Printed on: Mon Sep 17 15:57:07 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 3/5​

Diagnostic test results​

Laboratory Type Name of Laboratory Species Test Type Date Results Provided Result​

National laboratory Laboratory for Animal Disease Prevention and Control (Guangdong) Birds reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 14/09/2007 Positive​

Future Reporting​

What further reports will be submitted in relation to this event?​

There are 10outbreaks that are still recorded as unresolved. It is not possible to declare this event resolved until these individual outbreaks are resolved.
Follow-up report No.: 7. Report reference: , OIE Ref: 6213, Report Date: 15/09/2007, Country: China (People's Rep. of)​

Printed on: Mon Sep 17 15:57:14 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 4/5

http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/reports/en_fup_0000006213_20070917_155704.pdf

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

H5N1 in China (link corrected)

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&...75090296685271.00043a568e825e5a14e3a&z=4&om=0http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...1.70002&spn=62.784122,127.089844&t=h&z=3&om=0

 

[Niko]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Follow-up report No.: 7​

Outbreak (this report - submitted)​

Province Prefecture County Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End​

GUANGDONG Panyu Village Sixian 23,05 113,42 05/09/2007​

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered​

Birds Animals 32630 9830 9830 22800 0​

Affected Population​

ducks​

http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/reports/en_fup_0000006213_20070917_155704.pdf

map of this current outbreak:

23,05 113,42

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...pn=0.413844,0.637207&t=h&z=11&iwloc=addr&om=0

 

[newore]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

H5N1 in China (link corrected)

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&...75090296685271.00043a568e825e5a14e3a&z=4&om=0http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...1.70002&spn=62.784122,127.089844&t=h&z=3&om=0

Dr. Niman do you know of a map with pins that includes, perhaps,
Viet Nam, or possibly more of SE Asia?

It might emphasize the scope of the regional distribution.

regards

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/09170702/H5N1_Guangdong_Ducks.html

Commentary

Re-emergence of H5N1 in Guangdong Ducks
Recombinomics Commentary
September 17, 2007

Since 2003, H5N1 has re-emerged in Asia with a vengeance, claiming dozens of lives and spreading to Europe, the Middle East and Africa through migrating birds and the poultry trade. Prevention and rapid response when outbreaks occur are therefore extremely important. But no matter how stringent the efforts or affluent the society, the risks of an ever-evolving virus such as H5N1 remain, as has been shown by the several outbreaks among chickens in Japan.

Tests on several wild birds found dead in Hong Kong this year determined that they were carrying H5N1. With initial tests on the ducks in Guangdong pointing to them also having the virus, it is clear that there is a need for defences to be strengthened.

The above comments on the recently confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 on five farms in Guangdong province describe the recent geographical expansion of H5N1 outside of China and regions to the northeast, but the role of trade in this dramatic expansion has no scientific basis.

H5N1 re-emerged in people in late 2003 in northern Vietnam as well as poultry in South Korea and Indonesia. These outbreaks were followed by human cases in Vietnam and Thailand in 2004 as well as China, Indonesia, and Cambodia in 2005. However, Clade 1 in southeast Asia, Clade 2.1 in Indonesia, and Clade 2.3 (Fujian strain) in China and southeast Asia have not been reported in wild birds, poultry, or people in countries to the west of China.

The expansion to the west began in 2005 and followed the report of clade 2.2 (Qinghai strain) in wild birds at Qinghai Lake in May. First reports were in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, which were followed by first reports of Asian H5N1 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in late 2005 or early 2006. All of these reports of H5N1 in poultry, wild birds, or mammals, including humans, were the Qinghai strain.

Although the other clades and sub-clades were widely detected in China and countries to the east, including initial reports in a goose in Guangdong province in 1996, there is no evidence for these strains in the expanded geographical reach. Clade 1 from Thailand was smuggled into Belgium in 2004, but no Clade 1 cases have been reported in poultry, wild birds, or mammals outside of southeast Asia, other than the two smuggled birds. Similarly, exotic birds in quarantine in the UK in 2006 were positive for Clade 2.3 (Fujian strain), but other than the quarantined birds, no Clade 2.3 has been reported in poultry, wild birds, or mammals outside of China and southeast Asia.

Thus, although multiple clades of Asian H5N1 have been reported in Asia since 1996, no H5N1 was reported to the west of china prior to the Qinghai H5N1 in wild birds in 2005, and all H5N1 isolated since 2005 in countries west of China have been Qinghai, including wild birds in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The H5N1 in Guangdong province will almost certainly be clade 2.3 (Fujian strain) and the emergence of this strain in vaccinated ducks on five farms remains a cause for concern.


.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

.....the emergence of this strain in vaccinated ducks on five farms remains a cause for concern.

Dr. Niman, could you elaborate on the implications of an emergence in vaccinated ducks, in general.

Are we seeing 1) incomplete vaccination, 2) incorrect vaccination, 3) natural viral adaptation to evade the vaccination strain, or other?

.

 

[Theresa42]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Source: http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/09/17/YO0709170009.htm

Duck farmers suspected skin by saving a number of vaccine
Large Photo
S Si-xian village duck farms still covered in play.

The village of ducks infected with avian flu, the villagers said, the village regularly on farms usually ducks explains, the "atypical pneumonia" after the government requirements are higher, the villagers were more conscious of the ducks vaccinated. But with the passage of time, some duck farmers began somewhat lax in order to save costs, reduce the injection volume and frequency of injection, and even the introduction of ducks from a duck to the listing, only played a vaccine, ducks resistance weakened, with no ground cleaning sheds, a virus, they will breed and spread.

Farms across the river stench

"Individual attention ATV own health, and the sake of cost savings caused everyone affected", the villagers complained to reporters this. More villagers said, a stream through the village duck farms, this river very bad odor greeted peacetime issued, the villagers have no irrigation water, but usually there are ducks swim to the river, from the initial estimate of river water reached the ears of them. Reporters went to check health of the river, by unidentified villagers and the staff of the obstruction.

Duck farmers have said the outbreak of the larger farms are keeping shape "Muscovy", the other dependent "white" not affected farms, they have to strengthen prevention work, but not because of current poultry shipped from the outskirts of the village, so that livelihoods are affected.

Anybody have any idea if this latest outbreak has occurred in Muscovy duck stocks only and not to standard domestic duck stocks (or vice versa?) as, perhaps, indicated by the sentence highlighted in red? (Could this sentence be saying that the standard domestic duck stocks -- "the other dependent 'white'" -- are "not affected"?)

The OIE report only specifies 'ducks' as far as I can see.

Thanks to FrenchieGirl for posting/translating this article! And thanks to MomCares for raising this question.

 

[Theresa42]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Hat-tip, Carol@SC!

Suspected bird flu outbreaks in Guangdong, no human infection so far

Shanghai. September 17. INTERFAX-CHINA - A suspected bird flu epidemic has been discovered in Guangzhou, capital city of southern China's Guangdong Province, leading to the deaths of around 10,000 ducks, though so far, no human infection has been reported, state media reported today....

http://www.interfax.cn/displayarticle.asp?aid=27982&slug=CHINA-HEALTH-DISEASES

 

[Theresa42]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Hat-tip, Carol@SC!

Battered to death
Staff reporter
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A worker bashes in the brains of ducks in a massive cull in Guangdong province, where health officials are desperately trying to control an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

The outbreak means Hong Kongers may have to dig deeper into their pockets if they want chicken to be on their menu for next week's Mid-Autumn Festival.

The latest bird flu outbreak in Guangdong has forced the SAR authorities to scrap an earlier decision to allow live chicken imports from the mainland to be increased to 70,000 birds daily to meet the demand for the festival, which falls on Wednesday next week.

Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said yesterday imports of live poultry as well as frozen ducks and geese from Guangdong will be suspended for three weeks following the confirmation of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu among ducks in Guangzhou's Panyu district.

"All chilled and frozen duck and geese from Guangdong will be suspended for one week, and the government will scrap an arrangement to increase imports of live chickens for the Mid-Autumn Festival," Chow said.

But he stressed that the move is only a precautionary measure. "So far, no problems have been detected among mainland poultry and poultry products supplied to Hong Kong."

According to the mainland authorities, nearly 10,000 ducks that died of bird flu at farms around Panyu had been vaccinated against the disease, sparking fears that the virus may have mutated.

Initial tests showed that the birds died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, which can be transmitted to humans. Chow said Hong Kong will suspend all imports of live chickens, eggs and chilled and frozen poultry meat from farms within a 24-kilometer radius of the infected farms near Panyu.

Guangdong Animal Epidemic Prevention Center director Yu Yedong said the outbreak was not due to vaccination problems.

"It was because there wasn't enough time for the vaccinations to produce sufficient antibodies before the ducks caught the virus, and most of the birds were baby ducks," he said.

Health workers in Guangdong began culling 100,000 ducks within three kilometers of the duck farms where the outbreak happened.

Mainland officials said the situation is "well under control" and they have not detected anything abnormal. Chow explained that only imports of poultry from around Panyu have been suspended as there are no indications that the disease has spread to other areas. However, import arrangements will be adjusted accordingly if needed to protect public health.

The Hospital Authority said yesterday all public hospitals have been placed on full alert for possible cases of avian flu in view of the outbreak in Guangdong.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=12&art_id=53652&sid=15422261&con_type=1

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Dr. Niman do you know of a map with pins that includes, perhaps,
Viet Nam, or possibly more of SE Asia?

It might emphasize the scope of the regional distribution.

regards

This map has some of the H5N1 in Vietnam this year

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...0296685271.00043a570ecf8640bf00f&t=h&z=5&om=1

 

[Theresa42]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Anybody have any idea if this latest outbreak has occurred in Muscovy duck stocks only and not to standard domestic duck stocks (or vice versa?) as, perhaps, indicated by the sentence highlighted in red? (Could this sentence be saying that the standard domestic duck stocks -- "the other dependent 'white'" -- are "not affected"?)

The OIE report only specifies 'ducks' as far as I can see.

Thanks to FrenchieGirl for posting/translating this article! And thanks to MomCares for raising this question.

I see on FW that this is how FrenchieGirl interpreted the article -- that Muscovy ducks are affected while the standard domestic ducks are not. Thanks, FG!

 

[HenryN]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Dr. Niman, could you elaborate on the implications of an emergence in vaccinated ducks, in general.

Are we seeing 1) incomplete vaccination, 2) incorrect vaccination, 3) natural viral adaptation to evade the vaccination strain, or other?

.

My guess is all three. Soem reports mentioned that some vaccinated birds had only received one of two shots. Other reports emphasis the young age of the infected birds. However, most of the vaccinatios are one shot fits all, which will likely come up short in certain areas. Poor fits lead easier immunological evasion.

 

[Niko]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

I posted this at CE last night.

hat-tip Frenchie Girl at FT

This may add to the discussion - see last paragraph

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> [2007-09-17] Duck farmers save paper [money?] by a suspected number of vaccine

S Si-xian village duck farms still covered in play.

The village of ducks infected with avian flu, the villagers said, the village regularly on farms usually ducks explains, the "atypical pneumonia" after the government requirements are higher, the villagers were more conscious of the ducks vaccinated. But with the passage of time, some duck farmers began somewhat lax in order to save costs, reduce the injection volume and frequency of injection, and even the introduction of ducks from a duck to the listing, only played a vaccine, ducks resistance weakened, with no ground cleaning sheds, a virus, they will breed and spread.

Farms across the river stench

"Individual attention ATV own health, and the sake of cost savings caused everyone affected", the villagers complained to reporters this. More villagers said, a stream through the village duck farms, this river very bad odor greeted peacetime issued, the villagers have no irrigation water, but usually there are ducks swim to the river, from the initial estimate of river water reached the ears of them.Reporters went to check health of the river, by unidentified villagers and the staff of the obstruction.

Duck farmers have said the outbreak of the larger farms are keeping shape "Muscovy", the other dependent [domestic?] "white" not affected farms, they have to strengthen prevention work, but not because of current poultry shipped from the outskirts of the village, so that livelihoods are affected.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

Orignal in Chinese:
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/09/17/YO0709170009.htm
Translated via Google:
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?u...n&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> DOMESTIC MUSCOVY (Cairina moschata)

The only domestic duck not derived from Mallards. This bird is indigenous to South and Central America. Unlike other domestic ducks, Muscovies have the ability to fly fairly well and will often roost in a tree. Impressive, considering this is the largest of all the domestic ducks. They mainly feed on underwater vegetation and seeds. </td> </tr> </tbody></table>

http://www.bird-friends.com/BirdPag...estic%20Muscovy

 

[Niko]

Re: China finds suspected H5N1 outbreak among ducks

Just found this...

[SIZE=+1]Domestic ducks fall into the following major genetic classifications:

(1) Common ducks. Most domestic ducks fall into this group. Common ducks are believed to have originated from the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Some of the better known breeds of common ducks include the Pekin, Asylesbury, Rouen, Call, Indian Runner, Khaki Campbell, Cayuga, Albio, Maya, and Tsaiya. Common ducks can interbreed, and produce fertile offspring. Eggs from common ducks require about 28 days to hatch.

(2) Muscovy ducks. The Muscovy (Cairina moschata) is distinctly different genetically from common ducks.

This breed is believed to have originated in South America, although ancient records of this or a similar breed have been found in Egypt. There are both colored and white feathered varieties of Muscovies. The Sudani is a breed of Muscovy found in Egypt. Unlike common ducks, the head and face of Muscovies is covered with caruncles (a fleshy growth that resembles wattles). Another prominent feature of Muscovy ducks is the large difference in body size between the drake and the duck, the male weighing 30-50% more than the female. Muscovies tolerate hot weather much better than common ducks. Muscovy eggs require about 35 days to hatch. While Muscovies can be crossed with common ducks, their offspring are sterile.

more here: http://www.duckhealth.com/dmstduck.html

[/SIZE]