wallacesfarmer : declared in Iowa prepares for possible return of bird flu

We are very hopeful we will be able to avoid a major outbreak of bird flu occurring in Iowa again. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus strains occur naturally in wild migratory waterfowl and shorebirds without causing illness. Are Iowa poultry producers vulnerable to an outbreak of avian influenza? Although it hasn't reappeared in Iowa yet, bird flu has shown up in some flocks in Tennessee and Wisconsin in March. They focus every day on biosecurity, recognizing the potential that avian influenza and other diseases are always a risk.

Step up surveillance to stop bird flu spread from China

Von Dobschuetz said China was assessing the virus' prevalence and results were expected in the coming weeks. Since the virus was first identified in 2013, 1,320 human cases have been recorded in China, including 492 deaths, according to FAO figures. But in February Beijing reported it detected an evolution in the virus that caused severe disease and death in poultry within 48 hours of infection. ; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. "The earlier you pick up the incursion of the virus the more chance you have to control it," von Dobschuetz told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.


He said: "There is currently no publicly available vaccine to protect against the H7N9 virus infection. The first confirmed infections of the new H7N9 strain of bird flu were reported on mainland China in March 2013. Signs and symptoms of H7N9 infection in people mainly start with a fever and cough. As of Saturday, there were a total of 1,329 confirmed human H7N9 cases around the world since the 2013 outbreak, claiming at least 492 lives. Scientists analysed the DNA of H7N9 virus strains collected since the 2013 outbreak, and identified a gene mutation that allowed it to adapt to human cells.


collected by :Lucy William
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VIRUSES and INFECTIONS