North Korea reports another H5N1 outbreak
North Korea has experienced another H5N1 avian flu outbreak in domestic poultry, according to a report yesterday from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Of a village flock of 501 birds, 136 were killed by the virus, the report said, and the remaining 365 were culled to prevent disease spread. The outbreak, which started on Apr 10, is in North Hwanghae province in the southern part of the country.
The affected area has been disinfected, local authorities said. Also, 20,000 area poultry have been vaccinated in response to the outbreak, as well as 530,000 birds in Pyongyang after large outbreaks at two chicken factory farms that were reported to the OIE last week, the current OIE report said.
Apr 22 OIE report
USDA reports low-path H5 on California quail farm
Low-pathogenic H5 avian flu has struck a California quail farm, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said in an OIE report yesterday.
The commercial farm, in Stanislaus County, started experiencing increased mortality in its layer flock of about 56,000 Japanese quail on Apr 14. Samples from the birds tested positive for H5 on Apr 16, but the exact strain is not yet known. The farm also houses about 39,000 brooder quail and 21,000 Pekin ducks.
"The amino acid sequence at the hemagglutinin protein cleavage site of the laboratory specimen is compatible with North American low pathogenic avian influenza virus," the report says. "The sequence is 99.1% similar to A/American green-winged teal/Wisconsin 10OS3127/2010."
Birds on the affected farm and two "epidemiologically linked premises" were placed under quarantine, the USDA said in the report.
Russia and Taiwan banned import of chickens from California following the outbreak, according to a story today on Meatingplace, a site geared toward the meat industry.
Apr 22 OIE report
Apr 23 Meatingplace story (free registration required)
Study finds wide range of avian flu viruses at China lake
An analysis of avian flu viruses in environmental samples and in people exposed to ducks in the East Dongting Lake, China, area found 12 subtypes in birds, with a prevalence of 5% in wild and domestic duck samples, but no human antibodies against H5N1, according to a study yesterday in PLoS One.
Chinese researchers analyzed samples from wild birds, poultry, and humans in the region, which is along a major migration route. They also analyzed 6,621 environmental samples, including fresh fecal and water samples, from wild birds and domestic ducks in the area.
They found a prevalence of 5.2% in wild bird environmental samples and 5.3% in domestic poultry environmental samples. They isolated 29 avian flu viruses from wild bird fecal samples and 5 from poultry fecal samples. The viruses comprised 12 different subtypes.
The investigators did not find antibodies against H5N1 in humans, "suggesting that human infection with H5N1 was rare in this region."
Apr 22 PLoS One study
