Minimising the Risk of Avian Influenza on Free-Range Farms

This is a good subject. It is good to solve disease problem throughout the husbandry system instead of treatments and antibiotics. Is the open system using deep litter good for Minimising the Risk of Avian Influenza on Free-Range Farms? What the is mode of action that free rang system make minimizing avian influenza? Best regard Yours Talaat El-Sheikh

avian influenza fear-scientific trends on avian influenza , remedies proposed by many sectors including administrators,fund sharing on these issues,chasing the noble food items like egg and chicken meat involving AI, world concern on AI all these are due to avian species? In india still swain flue projections are fluctuating from period to period with out any base or even with less swain production. Some say free range and some say safety food etc for international control. Is it possible to have any strong action by scientific community on AI issues or we just watch news days at california and some time in astralia or India etc? Can we control eating habbits in slow process? Is there any common program for all animal to keep the planet free from such so call dangerous issues like AI,swain flue,chronic acute resp disease etc? Can there be no export import of eggs and chicken world over? Can consumer pay the cost involved in such control production programs due to AI of low cost protein products egg and chicken meat? can we divert our attention from AI all over when no viral diseases of human being are free from doubts rather the immunity of human beings are important ? Good article on AI i have read now. thanks sir. m rath

Some useful comments from Dr Scott but unfortunately the reality of avian influenza in Australia does not support the view that free-range farming imposes high risk. 1. Most outbreaks in Australia have been in cage and barn systems. 2. While indeed the 2 most recent outbreaks in Australia were reported in commercial table egg layers, most incidents of LP and HP AI in Australia occurred in meat birds and in breeders. Some of the outbreaks in breeders could not be associated with "fundamental biosecurity failures". 3. Despite a significant increase recently in the number of free-range broiler flocks in Australia no corresponding outbreaks have been reported in free range broiler flocks. 4. All the index cases in the 2014 /2015 AI outbreaks in commercial flocks Europe, Canada and USA have been in barn or cage systems and a significant number in breeders where biosecurity is believed to be good. a. In Europe the latest outbreaks of H5N8 demonstrates that in all the 3 index cases in the 3 affected countries the virus got first into poultry populations with no access to the outdoors (cage/ barn). b. In Canada the avian influenza outbreaks (H5N2) have been initially in a broiler breeder farm (Chilliwack) and a turkey barn farm (Abbotsford) with further spread to 3 more farms. There are no indications that any of the affected flocks had access to the outdoors. c. USA - The first reported commercial farm in the USA - January 23, 2015 was a 134,000 turkey farm (Stanislaus County, California). The farm is owned by Foster Farms. According to their website they do not have free range flocks. The first case in commercial poultry in the Mississippi flyway was in a turkey breeder replacement flock. The First case in commercial chickens in the current USA outbreaks was reported in a flock of 200,000 layers (not FR) in Jefferson County Wisconsin. 5. The summation by Dr Scott implies that at the core of the problem are non- allied producers but this bears little resemblance of the reality of outbreaks in Australia including the 2 more recent outbreaks in 2012 and 2013. J.M Barry in the book ‘The Great Influenza’ wrote; ”The commitment to logic with man’s ambition to see the entire world in a comprehensive and cohesive way may actually impose blindness on science…., “ Indeed being blind to the risk is not helpful but ignoring facts has the capacity to produce a less obvious but as serious impairment.. George Arzey Poultry Veterinarian

Bird flu is a major problem throughout the world.I appreciate the detailed article on the Avian Infuenza.Recently there was out break of HN virus in India in Hyderabad in a layer farm.Animal Husbandary authorities have taken stringent measures to control the wide spread of Bird Flu. Effective control of disease can be controlled by effective Boisecurity measures.Immunity of the birds should be optimum with good nutrition and management practices.I believe that density of bird's population is one of the major concern in wide spread of Avian Influenza.There should be strict Government regulations in opening new farms at least in countries where it is lacking.

Every one in the poultry industry talks about the biosecurity, nutrition, management and immunity of the birds with respect to the LP and HP AI. Having closely observed and studied it for few years now i strongly believe every one is off the track, blame game is on, they blame the wild birds, free flying birds, range/country chicken, egg vans, chicken trucks, farm workers, etc., no one really knows how and what to do to prevent it, guess work does not work favorably in AI, no honest worker or sincere effort is directed towards its identification, isolation at least in India. I request the concerned scientific community to look in the directions that have not been investigated thus far,stop blame game, come out with concrete steps to control AI, which should be followed by one and all in the poultry industry.

The comments by Rajendra Prasad Vemana and Surinder Maini in some respect are a reminder that beyond the role of wild waterfowl there is a potential for other important factors to be involved including; the density of the poultry population and not the least the role that domestic ducks could play in the epidemiology of avian influenza in poultry. While this was acknowledged during the spread of the H5N1 in South East Asia, domestic ducks rarely receive sufficient attention when trying to explore the epidemiology of the disease. In at least 70% of the reported low pathogenic incidents in Australia the affected poultry flocks were either duck or mixed ducks and chicken flocks. In 3 of the 7 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Australia there was evidence of presence of the virus in adjoining duck farms or an emu flock (Selleck 1976, Selleck 2003, Selleck et al 2003). In the debate about biosecurity and the ensuing blame game rarely it is acknowledged that avian influenza viruses can be wind-borne. Amos Ssematimba et al (2012) concluded that while wind-borne route alone is insufficient to explain the observations during the Dutch epidemic in 2003, it could contribute substantially to the spread over distance of up to 25 km (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031114) George Arzey Poultry Veterinarian .