Victoria, Australia – Credit Wikipedia
# 6103
Overnight the wire services have been abuzz with news of the discovery of a low pathogenic form of of avian influenza (LPAI) on a couple of duck farms in Victoria, Australia.
A few samples of the media coverage include:
Chicken safe to eat, despite Victorian bird flu
Bird flu detected in ducks near Melbourne
While all of the stories (rightfully) point out that this is a low-path strain - and not considered to be a serious health hazard to humans – noticeably absent from any of the above reports is any identification of the strain of avian flu detected.
There are, of course, a great many LPAI strains out there, but only the H5s and H7s are required to be reported to the OIE because of their potential to evolve into a more pathogenic strain.
For a good background on avian influenza in agriculture I would invite you to visit CIDRAP’s Avian Influenza (Bird Flu): Agricultural and Wildlife Considerations - Last updated January 21, 2012
A visit to Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries website solves the subtype mystery (stated to be H5), which is included in the following statement by Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Andrew Cameron.
Chief Veterinary Officer’s Avian Influenza Update
27 January 2012
The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has quarantined a commercial duck farm in two locations north-west of Melbourne after birds there tested positive to Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI).
DPI Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Andrew Cameron said analytical tests carried out at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory at Geelong, Victoria, had given a positive response to low pathogenic H5 subtype avian influenza virus, prompting authorities to act immediately.
This low pathogenic subtype of avian influenza is not the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus affecting poultry and humans throughout much of Asia. The wider community is not at risk from this incident.”
Dr Cameron has said, “The virus is relatively harmless now, but we do not want to take the risk it could linger in bird populations and mutate to a more virulent strain.”
The farm has been placed under strict quarantine and no birds, eggs, meat or associated equipment can be taken off the property.
The Consultative Committee for Emergency Animal Diseases (CCEAD) will meet on Friday 27 January, to discuss containment, surveillance and next steps.
Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester reinforced the assurances that the public is not at risk. “Our poultry meat and eggs continue to be safe under normal food handling and cooking arrangements” she said.
For further information about Avian Influenza review the links below or call 1300 135559.
In Victoria, strict biosecurity guidelines apply to all poultry farms to prevent poultry, feed and water from mixing with wild birds. This minimises the risk of disease. It is a good practice to protect the food and water used for your pet birds and to ensure wild birds cannot come into contact with them. Finally, it is important for all of us to follow good hygiene practices to minimise the risk of any disease, such as washing hands after contact with animals and birds and, in particular, not handling sick or dead birds. These are sensible precautions that will prevent many diseases, not just AI.
Dr Andrew Cameron
Chief Veterinary Officer, Victoria
You’ll find another press release on this site, providing greater detail on the steps that are being taken to eradicate this virus.
Media release: Swift Action to Contain Avian Influenza
27 January 12
