By MEGGIE. I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While media coverage of avian influenza, or bird flu, has been fairly quiet for the past several years, the topic recently came up when Kentucky officials announced an investigation of a poultry farm in the western countryside.

The single broiler/breeder poultry farm in Kentucky is under inspection for non-pathogenic or low-pathogenic avian influenza, which state officials are claiming as a minimal threat.
“We really haven’t seen much in the news; it’s just not a hot, sexy topic anymore, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important or things aren’t going on,” said Andrea Miles, an international avian influenza consultant and veterinarian.

Miles provided an update on pertinent investigations and research on avian influenza during the National Institute for Animal Agriculture annual meeting on April 1.

Generally, she described avian influenza as a virus that affects mostly domestic poultry and some wild birds.

The virus is spread to healthy birds by direct contact with infected birds or infected material. Miles, who travels to nations affected by the virus, claims “a large part of the world is dealing with outbreaks right now, including Asia, Europe and Africa.”

In fact, on Jan. 18, a 27-year-old woman from eastern China died of bird flu, according to Chinese authorities.

From 2003-06, there were 61 total outbreaks, including domestic poultry and wild birds. In 2007, there were four new outbreaks and in 2008, there were zero new outbreaks. Just in the first quarter of 2009, only one outbreak has been reported in the country of Nepal.
Examples of virus strains, including high- and low-pathogenic, are H5N1, H7N7, H7N3 and H9N2. “Countries with H5N1 entrenched in poultry include China at 1.3 billion birds afflicted in a five-year span, Indonesia with 237 million birds in five years and Bangladesh with 153 million reported in a three-year span,” said Miles.
From 2003-09, Miles reported the total human cases of the virus have occurred in Bangledesh with one case and zero deaths, in China with 38 cases and 25 deaths and Indonesia with 141 cases and 115 deaths.

“In actuality, the virus doesn’t easily affect humans,” she added.
“Of those affected, though, there is a high chance of mortality at 63 percent. Those that take Tamiflu in the specified time frame have the best chance to survive.”

The reported signs and symptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from eye infections to influenza-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches) to severe respiratory illness (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia) sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting and neurological changes.

In Kentucky’s situation, State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout has quarantined the farm under investigation, which produces hatching eggs for Perdue Farms, Inc. Perdue plans to depopulate 20,000 chickens in the two houses on the farm.

Additionally, state officials claim that there is little evidence so far to indicate that any infected poultry ended up in the human food supply.

The most common ages infected by the virus are generally the younger generation, according to Miles, especially young children.
“There have been a large number of children in contact with birds that are their pets, that have been infected by the flu,” she explained. “Studies have shown that the virus affects humans deep in the lungs.”

She described an outbreak in 2003 in the Netherlands with 89 people infected with H7N7, and one death. “Sixty percent of people exposed caused antibodies to spread to their family members, many of those who worked in the culling activity, causing some to get very ill,” she said. Then in 2004, two cases of high-pathogenic H7N3, HPA1 showed up in Canada.

Miles explained the first representation of avian influenza occurred in 1986 in the United States.

“It is no longer here and we’re not sure if its genetically related to cases/viruses in other countries,” she said.

The most typical strain of avian influenza is H9N2, which is a low-pathogentic virus. “A lot of the countries where it has occurred are vaccinating for it,” she added.

While a bit complicated, Miles explained there are two strains (H5N1 and H9N2) in Israel that have many elements in common. If co-circulated, they could be used as pieces to a puzzle to end up with a new predicted strain.

“It’d be pretty great if we could predict what strain is headed where next,” she said.

Miles claimed that all indications show that the next virus is headed into Africa. For some good news, she reported the virus is not spreading to North or South America.

“We have good containment for poultry being shipped into the United States and Canada,” she said – just days before the Kentucky announcement.

To prevent future outbreaks of the virus, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations suggests targeted survelliance to detect early stages, take a better look at the domestic population, places where wild birds congregate, and improve wild bird control. “We need proper surveillance to prevent any future outbreaks in the U.S.; this is our biggest challenge,” Miles said.