Spain - Avian influenza H5N1 detected in a worker at a poultry farm in Guadalajara

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Avian flu detected in a worker at a poultry farm in Spain

The Ministry of Health has reported the detection of avian influenza A (H5N1) in a sample from a worker at a poultry farm in Guadalajara


Writing - 10-03-2022 - 11:06 H - 3 min.

This summer, Castilla-La Mancha reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry farms of laying hens in Guadalajara in which more than 700,000 animals were affected.

In its latest reports, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recalled that there is no evidence that the H5N1 subtype, which has been affecting Europe this past year, has significant zoonotic capacity , although it recommended minimizing unnecessary contact with birds that show clinical symptoms.

Now, the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies ( CCAES ) of the Ministry of Health has notified in a report, to which Animal's Health has had access , the detection of avian influenza A (H5N1) in a sample of one of these workers of affected farms.

Thus, it explains that on September 27, 2022, the National Center for Microbiology confirmed the detection in a sample that was taken on the 23rd in the context of control and early detection actions around the focus.

The report indicates that the worker remained asymptomatic and in home isolation until day 28, when another sample was negative by PCR. The contact study identified a single close contact, who has also had a negative PCR result. The tests carried out on the rest of the workers on the farm were also negative .

The Ministry of Health recalls that, since 2003, a total of 1,321 cases have been reported to the World Health Organization , including 456 deaths from human infection by influenza A ( H5N1 ) worldwide.

During 2022, two other cases have been reported in the United Kingdom and the United States, points out Health, which also points out, regarding its impact on animals, that the 2021-2022 season has been the largest epizootic recorded to date in both wild birds like barnyard

Of course, it ensures that the risk of contagion for workers in poultry farms is considered low or moderate and, since the virus has not developed the ability to be transmitted between people, the risk for the general population in Spain is considered very low.

https://www.animalshealth.es/avicult...avicola-espana

 

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

García Alía: "We have professionals to control outbreaks of avian flu"

26 SEPTEMBER, 2022

...
The president of the Toledo Veterinary College and the Council of Veterinary Colleges of Castilla-La Mancha, Luis Alberto García Alía, calls for calm in the face of the outbreaks of avian flu reported in the province of Guadalajara in recent weeks and assures that "in In our region we have highly qualified professionals to manage and control zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, where veterinarians play a fundamental role”.

Four months after Spain considered the avian flu under control, new outbreaks have been reported this summer in several autonomous communities, to which more have now been added in Guadalajara, which have affected two laying hen farms with an approximate census of 750,000 copies. Faced with this new alert, veterinarians in Castilla-La Mancha carry out important surveillance work on both wild birds and poultry farms to prevent new cases of avian influenza.

The introduction of the virus on the farm is suspected to have been through contact with wild birds. We must bear in mind that Castilla-La Mancha, due to its geographical location as a place of passage and rest for migratory birds between Africa and Europe and its abundant lagoons and wetlands, is an area that is particularly sensitive to this disease, since avian flu is found naturally in wild waterfowl and its spread is directly related to migratory movements.

Castilla-La Mancha has 778 poultry farms including chickens, turkeys and ducks, with a census of more than 95 million copies, in addition to producing 25% of the eggs consumed in all of Spain.

The Official Veterinary Services of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha have adopted the measures established in the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687 of the European Commission and stress that consumers must be calm because the controls that are carried out both in the farms as in the products are exhaustive and there is no risk with the products marketed.

Protocol for action and surveillance against avian influenza

Given the notification of these outbreaks, the veterinary services of the region have proceeded to the immediate immobilization of the two affected farms from the moment of suspicion, the completion of the epidemiological survey and the slaughter and destruction of the carcasses and the rest of the materials likely to carry the virus. In addition, a restriction zone has been established around the outbreak of 3 km of protection zone and up to 10 km of surveillance zone.

In addition, veterinarians are working on taking samples from both poultry and wild bird farms to rule out possible outbreaks in the rest of the region. This control is essential to guarantee safe sanitary conditions in all farms in Castilla-La Mancha.

The Council of Veterinary Colleges of Castilla-La Mancha urges “extreme all biosecurity measures both to prevent the entry of avian influenza in poultry farms and to prevent the spread with the movement of dead or slaughtered animals outside the farm. ”.

https://axoncomunicacion.net/garcia-...e-gripe-aviar/

 

[sharon sanders]

Pathfinder and I have both looked and there is no notice on the Ministry site yet.

 

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Spain detects its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a human, the second in Europe

• The positive was detected in a worker at a poultry farm in Guadalajara, who has quickly "negativized" and remained asymptomatic, so "there is no concern"

Sergio Ferrer
October 3, 2022 6:29 p.m.
Updated on 03/10/2022 19:14h5


The worker of a poultry farm in Castilla-La Mancha has tested positive for avian influenza type H5. This is the first case detected in Spain and the second in Europe, after the United Kingdom found another in December 2021 . The case was confirmed last Tuesday, September 27, and declared to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the WHO and the Center for Coordination of Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES) of the Ministry of Health. The infected remains asymptomatic and has already tested negative, like the rest of the personnel analyzed, that he is taking the antiviral against the flu oseltamivir preventively.

The story goes back to September 12, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in a laying hen farm in the municipality of Fontanar (Guadalajara) . It was the 35th outbreak in Spain in 2022. A week later, on September 20, a second outbreak was reported in a farm in Guadalajara, 3 kilometers from the previous one.

Sources related to the case clarify to elDiario.es that the situation "is not worrying" and that it is a positive detected during the active surveillance tasks that are carried out routinely in these places. The sample that was positive was taken on September 23 and the result was confirmed on the 27th. The affected person remained in home isolation until the 28th, when he tested negative, according to documents to which elDiario.es has had access.

Health sources clarify that the worker tested positive "with a very low viral load" and that he never developed symptoms. These circumstances have led to inform the health authorities, but without launching an alert.

Up to 60% lethality in humans

Influenzavirus A subtype H5N1 of high pathogenicity is an old acquaintance of the poultry industry and veterinarians due to the high mortality it causes among birds and the enormous economic losses caused by the sacrifices made to control outbreaks. It is also in all the pools of possible more serious future pandemics: although contagion between people is, to date, anecdotal, the high fatality rate in humans, up to 60% according to the WHO , worries about the possibility that the virus mutates to be transmitted between humans.

The H5N1 flu was first detected in the late 1990s in China, and came to the attention of researchers when a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong confirmed that humans could and seriously spread it: of the 18 recorded cases, 6 they passed away Throughout the 21st century, cases in people have continued to increase: according to the WHO, between 2003 and March 31, 864 cases were registered, of which 456 died, with a fatality rate of 52%.

The current strain was detected in 2021 and since then three cases have been registered in humans: in addition to those in Spain and the United Kingdom, another detected in the United States in April.

The largest outbreaks observed in Europe

Although the detection of a case in Spain is not cause for alarm, experts have not overlooked the increase in cases of H5N1 flu in recent years, both in birds and in people, especially since 2020. Precisely this Monday the The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the ECDC and the reference laboratory of the European Union (EU) shared updated data on these outbreaks .

"The 2021-2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza season is the largest observed in Europe to date," the ECDC concluded. According to these data, a total of 2,467 outbreaks have been detected in poultry and some 48 million birds have been slaughtered in the affected centers. Detections have also been made in 187 captive animals and 3,573 events were found in wild specimens. "The geographical extent of the outbreak is unprecedented and affects 37 European countries," the report added.

The new report, already out of date, highlighted that no cases had been observed in humans among the member states. "The general risk to the population remains at a low level, but is slightly higher for people who work in direct contact with infected birds." For this reason, he insisted on the need for surveillance and prevention tasks such as those that have allowed the Spanish case to be detected.

Bird flu cases have increased tremendously since 2020, both H5N1 and other subtypes such as H5N6 and H5N8. At the end of 2021, the World Organization for Animal Health warned of the need to increase surveillance tasks due to the increase in the intensity of outbreaks among birds . According to their data, the 14 million cases detected in 2021 is a record that exceeds the previous five years combined. This represented a 462% increase in the number of cases and a 150% increase in the number of deaths compared to the previous year.



https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/es...iar-h5n1-humano-segundo-europa_1_9591302.html

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.bluradio.com/mundo/espana-reporto-un-caso-leve-de-gripe-aviar-en-humanos-cb20

Spain reported a mild case of bird flu in humans
The worker entered home isolation until on September 28, he gave a negative PCR test.
By: AFP
October 3, 2022


A worker at a Spanish poultry farm contracted avian flu at the end of September in an infrequent case of transmission to humans, and remained asymptomatic until testing negative without knowing of other infections, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday.

"On September 27, 2022, the National Center for Microbiology confirmed a case of avian influenza A (H5N1) in an asymptomatic male who has already turned negative," the ministry explained in a brief statement sent to AFP, ruling out any type of situation. alert.

The infected person was a worker at a poultry farm in Guadalajara (Castilla-La Mancha, center) where a source of contagion of the disease among poultry had been identified on September 17.

The positive, very slight according to ministry sources, was detected during the controls carried out at the center itself and the worker entered home isolation until on the 28th he gave a negative PCR test.

His only close contact tested negative, according to the ministry's statement, which stressed that "bird-to-human transmission is considered a rare phenomenon and human-to-human transmission is extremely rare."

The UK health security agency had already reported in early January that a person in close contact with infected birds had contracted the virus in south-west England and was in good condition, also emphasizing that the risk to humans was "very low".

Avian influenza A(H5N1) is, however, very lethal among birds and this season is being especially virulent in Europe, with an unprecedented wave of infections and millions of birds slaughtered.

In Spain, "79 outbreaks in wild birds and 36 in poultry farms" have already been detected, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

 

[sharon sanders]

This is a major Spanish media.



Health confirms the first case of avian influenza in humans in Spain in a worker of a poultry farm

The affected has not developed symptoms and was identified in the control tests after an outbreak among the hens of the farm.



snip


Spain has alerted the ECDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the case. To date, only the United Kingdom had registered a case of avian influenza of the strain that is circulating in humans on European soil, in 2021, which also had a good evolution. Another case was identified with the same result last year in the United States. Health reports that "the transmission [of the virus] from birds to humans is considered a rare phenomenon and transmission between people is extremely rare."

https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-10...a-en-un-trabajador-de-una-granja-avicola.html

 

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Translation Google

Alert Coordination Center and
Health Emergencies

GENERAL SECRETARY OF
HEALTH AND CONSUMPTION

GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF
PUBLIC HEALTH, QUALITY AND
INNOVATION

RAPID RISK ASSESSMENT

First detection of avian influenza A(H5N1) in
humans in Spain

October 4, 2022

Summary of the situation and conclusions

On September 27, a detection of avian influenza A(H5N1) was confirmed in a respiratory sample
of an asymptomatic worker, in the context of control actions and early detection
developed around a focus of infected birds on a farm. Although you can't
rule out contamination of the nasal or pharyngeal mucosa, following the principle
of precaution, the appropriate public health measures have been taken to avoid transmission to
others.

Avian influenza A(H5N1) is an infection with a high lethality in birds and with important
economic repercussions on poultry farming. Transmission from birds to humans
considered a rare phenomenon and transmission between people is extremely
infrequent. The 2021-2022 season has had the highest incidence of avian influenza A(H5N1) in
birds of those recorded so far worldwide, in addition to having lasted for months
summer, a fact that until now was unprecedented. Despite this, only two
human cases of influenza A (H5N1) (one asymptomatic and the other with very mild symptoms) at the
world.

In this season, 85 outbreaks have been detected in our country in wild birds and 36 in
poultry farms. In Spain there are protocols for the surveillance and control of avian influenza
including active surveillance for possible human cases directly related to the
outbreaks of birds in farms. Since January 2022 controls have been carried out on workers
of 22 farms: 177 tests carried out on 253 exposed workers, all of them resulting
negative.

The risk of new detections appearing is considered low for workers with
occupational exposure in affected farms with sick birds. Even though the cases
can become serious, the low capacity to transmit between people makes the risk
considered very low for the general population. The risk associated with the consumption of poultry meat or
eggs is insignificant.
...

Case description

On September 27, the detection of influenza A(H5N1) was confirmed in a respiratory sample, which
which constitutes the first detection in the human being in Spain. The sample belonged to a male
19 years old, a worker at a poultry farm in the province of Guadalajara, where he had
detected a focus of infection by this virus in birds on September 17, 2022. Among the
measures for the prevention, control and early detection established around the focus, on the 23rd
September tests for the detection of the virus by PCR were carried out on 12 workers,
all of them asymptomatic. On September 27, the National Center for Microbiology (CNM)
confirmed that one of the samples was positive for influenza A(H5N1). The RT-PCR result indicated
a high Ct value, which corresponded to a low viral load. In addition, the CNM has
partially sequenced the hemagglutinin confirming that it is H5.

The detection of influenza A(H5N1) virus in the respiratory sample of this asymptomatic person and
with a low viral load, raises the possibility that this finding corresponds to contamination
from the surface of the nasal or pharyngeal membrane, although this cannot be demonstrated
specifically. As established in the case definition reflected in Decision 2018/945 of 22
June 2018 of the European Commission, anyone with a positive test for influenza A(H5) or
A(H5N1) carried out by a National Reference Laboratory that participates in the Community Network of
Reference Laboratories for human influenza is considered a confirmed case, without it being
The presence of symptoms is necessary to establish this confirmation (1). Given this detection, like
that in other cases detected worldwide, also asymptomatic, public health measures
are recommended following the precautionary principle. Therefore, the public health response
appropriate to this finding, it must be the same as the one indicated to contain the spread
of an infection in a case with clinical symptoms. Thus, the case was isolated until the day
September 28 in which another RT-PCR test was negative. A contact study was carried out
who located a single close contact, living with the confirmed case, who also had
negative results in RT-PCR determinations.

At this time, microbiological research continues at the CNM, which will also send
samples to the European Influenza Reference Laboratory to complete the study of this virus.
...

https://www.sanidad.gob.es/en/profe...ertasActual/docs/20221004_ERR_Gripe_aviar.pdf

https://www.sanidad.gob.es/en/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/alertActu.htm

 

[Zeffy]

H5N1 Influenza human case reported in Spain

https://twitter.com/florian_krammer/...DQ-cWHweMrAAAA

Courtesy of Florian Krammer's twitter feed.

 

[sharon sanders]

Or not?

Please see:

Eurosurv. Influenza A(H5N1) detection in two asymptomatic poultry farm workers in Spain, September to October 2022: suspected environmental contamination