Finland: H5N1 Detected In 5 More Fur Farms (n=65)

 

#17,783

Last July Finland reported an outbreak of H5N1 in 20 fur farms (foxes, raccoons, mink), and after a slow initial response, the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Ruokavirasto) announced a plan to test all mink farms (starting in September), to be followed by testing all other fur farms (beginning in November).

Over the next 100 days (Aug 1st-Nov 9th) 12 additional farms were reported to be infected, and of these first 32, only 6 were mink farms.  The rest were fox or raccoon farms. 

With hundreds of fur farms operating in Finland, testing is expected to extend into 2024.  What wasn't expected was the high percentage of non-mink fur farms testing positive for antibodies to H5N1. 

Since routine testing of non-mink farms began earlier this month, we've seen the total number of infected farms double.  

First with 10 Additional Fur (Foxes) Farms on November 10th, followed by two reports last week adding 14 Additional Fur (Fox) Farms on Tuesday, and 4 More Fur Farms (n=60) a couple of days later.  

Today, the Finnish Food Safety Authority has added 5 more farms to their list (see below), bringing the total to 65. (Note: The only updates we've seen recently have been to the lists). 

One metric we haven't seen updated (since Nov 10th) is the total number of farms tested to date. Two weeks ago, roughly 25% of non-mink fur farms tested positive. 

While the initial outbreak was discovered last July following unusual mortality events on affected farms (see Eurosurveillance Report), routine antibody testing is turning up evidence of the virus on farms without obvious signs of infection. 

This has raised the ire of fur farmers, who point out that antibody tests only indicate if animals had been exposed to the virus in the past, not whether they are currently infected.  

FIFUR, the Finnish Fur Breeders’ Association, has gone on record vehemently opposing this type of testing, and the culling policy (see press release FIFUR opposes only H5N1 antibody testing of fur animals and euthanasia of healthy animals as a violation of the Animal Diseases Act).

Last week the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MMM) released a response (MMM: The Food Agency's actions at fur farms are necessary to protect people). 

Admittedly, PCR testing would tell us if an animal is currently infected, but that type of testing on hundreds of farms - each with tens of thousands of animals - is simply impractical.  

Of course, even if a farm tests negative today (via PCR or antibody testing), there is no guarantee the virus won't turn up there next week or next month. 

While Ruokavirasto continues to update their H5N1 infected farms list, four months into this outbreak we still know frustratingly little about the spread of this virus in these farms.  

How is it getting into these farms? 

What biosecurity measures have failed or can be improved? 

          What percentage of tests are coming back positive? 

Is it spreading from animal-to-animal or is there some other action at work?

And are there any other genetic changes (beyond what was reported last August) to the virus?

Without answers to these questions (and others), the the virus is likely to run roughshod over Finland's fur industry, and poses the same threat to fur farms in other countries as well. 

Stay tuned.