AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE &CONTROL STRATEGIES

Fred. L. Musisi & William Amanfu

RIACSO (FAO)-Pretoria/Animal Health Service

FAO/UN

Pretoria-South Africa/Rome-Italy

March 7, 2006

Pretoria-South Africa

Fred. L. Musisi & William Amanfu

RIACSO (FAO)-Pretoria/Animal Health Service

FAO/UN

Pretoria-South Africa/Rome-Italy

March 7, 2006

Pretoria-South Africa

1. Avian influenza: the disease2. History of the disease3. Current situation4. FAO response5. Conclusion

Presentation Presentation OutlineOutline

• Avian Influenza (AI) has been recognized as a highly lethal viral disease of poultry since 1901.

1955: a specific type (A) of influenza virus was identified as the causal agent of what was then called “fowl plague”

• Current outbreaks started in 2004 in South Asia

Avian Influenza: History of the Avian Influenza: History of the diseasedisease

• Comparing to the recent crisis, most of the previous outbreaks have shown very limited spread (UK: 1991)

However….

• Hong Kong 1997: HPAI caused serious disease in both people and poultry in

– 18 human cases were recorded with 6 fatal cases

Avian Influenza: History of the Avian Influenza: History of the diseasedisease

Aetiology:• Viruses of Avian Influenza (AI) are

found in the family Orthomyxoviridae.

• Orthomixoviridae are classified into types A, B, C

• AI virus belongs to type A

Avian Influenza: the Avian Influenza: the diseasedisease

Virulence:

Two distinct groups with ability to cause disease in chicken:

• Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) “fowl plague”;

Virus restricted to H5, H7 (Notifiable HPAI)Mortality may be as high as 100%

• Low pathogenic avian influenza (Notifiable LPAI) e.g. H5N2

Cause much milder disease

Avian Influenza: the diseaseAvian Influenza: the disease

Natural hosts: • Ducks,

Domestic fowl, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, pheasants.

• Wild birds

Avian Influenza: the Avian Influenza: the diseasedisease

CURRENT SITUATION IN NIGERIA

• Index case in Jaji-Kaduna State on February 7, 2006-Confirmation of H5N1 from OIE/FAO Avian Flu Collaborating Centre, Padova-Italy

• 6 more states (Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Nasarawa, Yobe, Federal Capital Territory) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria so far affected.

• Current control policy is Stamping Out with compensation and movement restrictions. Option of vaccination being considered by Government.

• FAO,OIE/AU-IBAR, WHO-CDC, USDA, USAID, EU are providing technical and logistic support.

• Outbreak of H5N1 confirmed in Niger believed to be an extension of that in Nigeria.

SITUATION IN NIGER

Countries Reporting HPAI in February 2006

Date of Report Country Species Affected

Human Cases Virus Type

27/02/06 Niger Chickens No H5N1

Malaysia No H5N1

20/02/06 Austria Swan/Poultry No H5N1

20/02/06 B/Herzegovina Swan No H5N1

19/02/06 Egypt Chickens No H5N1

18/02/06 India Poultry No H5N1

18/02/06 Slovenia Swan No H5

16/02/06 Germany Swan No H5N1

15/02/06 Iran No H5N1

15/02/06 Azerbaijan Wild birds No H5N1

13/02/06 Greece Red Breasted Goose

No H5N1

11/02/06 Italy Mute Swans No H5N1

06/02/06 Nigeria Chickens No H5N1

FAO RESPONSE TO CHANGE IN DYNAMICS OF SPREAD OF HPAI

• International workshops, Coordinating Meetings, Epidemiological and economic impact analysis

•EMPRES/FAO Early warning Messages on potential spread of HPAI through migratory birds.

• Donor appeal-Rome, Geneva, Beijing

• Increased interaction-WCS/WI/WWF-

• OFFLU

•National & Regional TCPs-Asia

•Rapid approval of 5 TCPs Southern Europe/Africa:

•Caucasus to be coordinated from Hungary

•Middle East to be coordinated from Beirut-Lebanon

•Northern Africa to be coordinated from Cairo-Egypt

•Eastern/Southern Africa to be coordinated from Nairobi-Kenya

•Western/Central Africa to be coordinated from Bamako-Mali

Global Framework for the Progressive control of Transboundary Animal Diseases

GF-TADs [FAO-OIE]

•To improve the protein food security, alleviate poverty, and improve the incomes of countries

•Safeguard the world livestock industry (of developed as well as developing countries) from repeated shocks of infectious animal disease epidemics

•Promoting safe and globalized trade in livestock and animal products

•Controlling TADs at source

KEY ELEMENTS OF HPAI PROJECTS IN REGIONS AT RISK

•AI disease surveillance (laboratory /field)-Capacity building for rapid detection

•Emergency preparedness plans

•Public awareness creation.

•Surveillance of migratory bird flyway patterns

•Risk assessment of potential dangers of disease spread

NATIONAL TCPs:

• Disease situation • Support to diagnostic and surveillance• Design strategies and contingency planning• Training• Equipment

A Global Strategy for the Progressive Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

A Global Strategy for the Progressive Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

Response of countries to HPAIResponse of countries to HPAIoutbreaksoutbreaks

• Control measures undertaken by countries:

– stamping out-culling impose quarantine and rapid surveillance of to determine extent of spread, close and disinfect markets. Sick and dead birds should not enter the human food chain

– Quarantine and movement control: tightly controlled quarantine on all places suspected of being infected. Use of security agents and custom officials.

Movement of farm workers who keep poultry at home

– Biosecurity Measures Disinfection processes-Bioexclusion

– Vaccination (China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam others in Europe).

Biosecurity

BiosecurityIs a challenge to prevent spread of this

infection to chickens.

One of the most common breaks in biosecurity is the entry of people bringing in contaminated materials (clothes, shoes, soil on hands) to where susceptible animals are kept.

Vaccination

Major support strategy when the disease has spread to such an extent that

•It has overwhelmed the resources of national governments

•Or the economic cost of widespread slaughter campaign cannot be borne.

•If used in accordance with the FAO/OIE standards, vaccines are effectiveprovide excellent protection against clinical disease in chicken by reducing mortality and and production losses.

Vaccination

•Vaccination of poultry also reduces the viral load in the environment and thereby decreases the risk of transmission to poultry and humans

•Depending on the incidence and distribution of outbreaks, vaccination may be undertaken around outbreak (ring vaccination) and through out the poultry population (Mass Vaccination)

•Sentinels poultry may be used to monitor the effect of vaccination in addition to cloacal swab and serological testing

Vaccination

When deciding to use AI vaccine in poultry,

•a simple animal health algorithm, in decreasing order of application, should be used:

•high risk situations - e.g. as ring vaccination outside the outbreak zone;

•rare captive birds, such as those in zoological collections;

•valuable genetic poultry stock, such as pure lines or grandparent stocks whose individual value is high;

•long-lived poultry, such as egg layers or parent breeders; and

•meat production poultry

• The Avian influenza crisis is currently one of the most important public health issues of our time with tremendous implications for peoples’ livelihoods and socio-economic impacts.

• These require effective inter-sectoral collaboration between the Ministries of Agriculture and Health of countries in order to solve the problems associated with these outbreaks.

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

THANK YOU