H5N8 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza detected in Pingtung Duck Slaughter Surveillance

H5N8 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza detected by Slaughter Surveillance in Pingtung Duck

The No. 1 Meat Duck Farm in Chaozhou Town, Pingtung County applied for pre-market inspection of avian influenza on January 31, and was confirmed as H5 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza on February 5 by the Pingtung Animal epidemic Prevention Institute. On the same day, the Animal epidemic Prevention Office activated the epidemic prevention mechanism in accordance with the standard operating procedures, completed the culling (3136 meat ducks) and the cleaning and disinfection of the farm area, and received notification from the Livestock Hygiene Laboratory on the 6th. The H5N8 subtype highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed by nucleic acid analysis in this field.

Pingtung County Animal epidemic Prevention Office said that this case is the first case of H5N8 subtype bird flu in the year, and has been notified to the Prevention and Quarantine Bureau of the Council of Agriculture in accordance with the regulations. In epidemic prevention, it has started monitoring, sampling, visiting and disinfection of poultry farms around the farm within a radius of 1 km, in order to confirm the health status of poultry and virus-free activities in the surrounding farms. It has also been launched to carry out disinfection of poultry vehicles at poultry slaughterhouses in the county, and to strengthen disinfection around poultry farms in high-risk townships where land and water poultry are intensive, with a view to eliminating the virus and avoiding spread as soon as possible.

The site is a meat and duck farm, although there are poultry houses and other facilities, but there is no purse seine around the poultry house and the feed trough is also open, which is easy to attract wild birds to find food and bring new virus. The epidemic Prevention Institute calls on poultry breeders to strengthen non-open breeding, avoid contact between poultry and migratory (wild) birds, and implement the biosafety level planning of hardware facilities in poultry houses and software biosafety measures such as personnel, vehicle, access control and site cleaning and disinfection in accordance with the "H5 and H7 subtype Poultry Influenza Prevention measures" announced by the county government, in order to effectively reduce the probability of avian influenza.

H5N8 highly pathogenic Avian Influenza detected in ▲ Pingtung Ducks