The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
UK poultry keepers urged to prepare for winter avian flu
HEALTH: Producers face real threat and should assess their biosecurity, expert tells conference in Edinburgh
Scotland’s poultry farmers should assess their farm biosecurity now in preparation for a likely return of avian influenza to Europe this winter, according to an expert in the disease.
Professor Ian Brown, head of virology at the UK’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), said it would be surprising if the disease did not reappear in poultry flocks around the world over the coming months.
And he said producers across Europe need to look at their preparedness against what was a very real threat to their businesses.
Speaking at the World Veterinary Poultry Association conference in Edinburgh, Prof Brown said while the situation was uncertain, if a new strain of the virus was found in Europe it could find its way to the UK via wild birds.
If UK flocks became infected, it could have considerable consequences for producers.
Given the level of uncertainty and potential risk, Prof Brown said it was important the sector worked together to identify areas where biosecurity could be improved.
“Even if the virus is changing, the way it behaves and spreads remains the same, so the pathways in which it gets into a unit are not any different,” he said.
“At this time of year, producers need to review their biosecurity and work as a group in the industry to set protocols. They need to be fastidious, as one case can cause the whole sector to suffer.”
Prof Brown said practices such as compartmentalisation – where business or multiple farms can adopt common biosecurity measures to standardise their approach to protecting bird health – can be beneficial.
However, simple measures such as ensuring buildings are in a good state, and feed, bedding and equipment is stored away from areas wild birds can access are just as important.
Scotland’s chief veterinary officer, Sheila Voas, said it was important producers remembered that the risk of bird flu from wild birds never completely disappears, and urged bird keepers to reduce contact wild birds in ponds and other water areas.