HEAL ▶▶▶TH
France considering vaccination against AI
The French ministry of agriculture is considering preventive vaccination of poultry against avian influenza as an essential part of a more targeted battle against the almost annually occurring major outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI) in the country.
BY RUUD PEYS T
his winter and spring, France once again registered 475 outbreaks of AI at poultry farms, the vast major- ity being geese or duck farms in the far south-west of the country. This outbreak follows similar epi- demics in 2015-16 and 2016-17 which have cost the poultry industry hundreds of millions in damage and lost revenue. Hardest hit was the foie gras industry which is strongly
concentrated in the Landes and Gers regions and neighbour- ing areas near the border with Spain. During the earlier
Spotting emerging avian influenza strains
Since 2015 multiple European countries have faced the same issues as France with avian influenza. Large producers in Poland and the Netherlands have battled recurring outbreaks which started earlier than in the past and lasted well into spring, instead of dying out at the end of winter. Just recently, in mid-May, the Netherlands reported an outbreak and in Poland the situation was even worse. The number of outbreaks of the H5N8 strain – 59 had been reported by the Polish authorities between 9-19 April alone – have had far reaching conse- quences. A British meat buyer has warned that it expected shortages on the UK market. With the virus getting close to becoming endemic, researchers want to gain a better understanding of it, as is the case in France. Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland are seeking to develop tests to spot emerging strains of bird flu which are categorised as mild but have the potential to become more dangerous. Their three-year € 1.2m study will focus on several types of bird flu viruses that are not presently cat- egorised alongside severe strains known to be a threat, but which are linked to recent outbreaks of infections with severe symptoms, high death rates and which pose a risk to public health.
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The team may be able to compare the impact of typically low-risk strains of flu with those that have evolved to become more harmful. They will also investigate how these viruses interact with poultry and wild birds, to better assess the potential risks from viruses that pass between the two groups. Experiments will test the impact of the strains on various tissues, to check for signs of severe disease that would be expected to occur in domestic or wild birds. “Bird flu is a major challenge and concern for the poultry industry. We know that mild H5N7 strains can become very dangerous, but it is be- coming clear that other mild strains are – to our surprise – becoming more virulent. It is critical that we seek to understand better the risk associated with these potentially harmful viruses,” said Professor Lon- neke Vervelde from the Roslin Institute. The project, known as FluNu- ance, is funded by the International Coordination of Research on In- fectious Animal Diseases (ICRAD). It will be carried out in collaboration with Royal GD Animal Health in the Netherlands, the University of Vet- erinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany, the National Veterinary Re- search Institute of Poland, and the National Food Chain Safety Office Veterinary Diagnostic Directorate in Hungary.
PHOTO: ANP
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