‘Unstoppable’ hen flu epidemic causes rising alarm amongst Dutch farmers | Chook flu
Warning bells are ringing throughout the continent over an unstoppable wave of avian flu that farmers worry may result in poultry farm bans in susceptible wetland areas.
Within the Netherlands, greater than 3.7 million chickens, geese and turkeys have been culled in probably the most severe outbreak ever.
In France, the place breeding geese is standard, the federal government mentioned that 16 million farmed birds had been destroyed, with farmers seeing their livelihoods collapse “like a home of playing cards”.
Earlier this yr, the Dutch setting minister, Henk Staghouwer, admitted that hen flu was now “unavoidable” in a rustic the place 19% of the floor space is water. There had been 66 outbreaks since October 2021. Now, 10 weeks later, the determine is as much as 77 and the embattled Staghouwer resigned, saying he was “not the proper particular person” for the job.
A proposal in a Dutch authorities report back to ban poultry farms totally in areas close to water has additionally sparked fierce opposition.
Yr-round epidemic
“There have been typically outbreaks within the winter, and never yearly, however now we see the virus stays round all yr, additionally in the summertime,” mentioned Dr Nancy Beerens, hen flu knowledgeable at Wageningen Bioveterinary Analysis (WBVR), which analyses suspected hen flu samples and advises the Dutch authorities.
“The virus is introduced into the Netherlands by wild migrating birds from Siberia that keep for the winter, and earlier than we noticed that once they migrated again in April, the virus was additionally gone. However now all types of hen species have grow to be contaminated and that implies that the virus stays.
“This yr, we see huge circulation, species that aren’t pure host species, seabirds, and never ones belonging to the goose or duck household, that are pure hosts.”
European and American strains that ought to not infect people have been infecting species reminiscent of foxes, polecats, badgers and otters, mentioned Beerens, including: “This isn’t a superb scenario as a result of if mammals grow to be contaminated, we’re additionally mammals – it means the virus is coming nearer to a leap to the human species than ever earlier than.”
One thriller is how the an infection enters farms, a lot of which have been banned from letting birds exterior or transporting them for months. Beerens factors to a number of entry factors. “You simply want slightly little bit of virus that comes with individuals, supplies, or rodents that stroll by means of hen faeces and are available into the barn, contaminated feathers blown in by the wind, or rainwater that drops from the roof, the place there’s hen faeces,” she mentioned.
Sijds Dijkstra, whose natural farm in Zeewolde was the primary to endure from the present outbreak in October 2021, has stored his birds inside for months. “Thirty-six thousand chickens needed to be culled on my farm final yr,” he mentioned. “Proper now, you could possibly get it once more at any second.
“There’s a whole lot of uncertainty and danger. Stopping farming isn’t an possibility as a result of you may have your stalls, and also you’ve invested cash in them. You may’t simply say: I’m stopping.”
Dijkstra, like everybody else within the sector, says the one resolution is an efficient vaccine. “At first, due to exports to different international locations, they didn’t wish to vaccinate, so nothing was developed,” he mentioned. “I hope that now they’ll do one thing.”
Banning hen farms
One chance prompt final yr was a whole ban on farms in “water-rich” areas – which has not been a preferred suggestion.
“You may’t simply draw a line by means of companies full of individuals doing their greatest to guard poultry,” mentioned Derk Boswijk, MP and agriculture spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Attraction. “A very powerful safety towards hen flu is vaccinations, to stop infections and culling poultry. However this implies a European method to extend the acceptance of merchandise from vaccinated animals.”
A spokesperson for the setting ministry wouldn’t touch upon the proposed ban, however mentioned the scenario was “very severe”, with strict biosecurity measures and an knowledgeable report back to be offered to parliament quickly. “We anticipate a everlasting menace of hen flu year-round,” she mentioned. “Trials are at present being carried out to check the efficacy of some vaccines beneath high-containment circumstances.”
Based on Beerens, preliminary outcomes from vaccine trials carried out by Wageningen Bioveterinary Analysis is not going to be obtainable till December.
Kees de Jong, head of the poultry sector on the LTO Nederland farming union, has known as for analysis into higher filtration techniques for poultry sheds and extra strategies to scare away wild birds, however mentioned the overwhelming want was for a vaccine – and quick.
“We’ve got breeding farms which might be extremely strict about hygiene: no one is available in with out being showered down,” mentioned De Jong. “They’re like a hospital intensive-care unit the place all the things is pristine – and nonetheless, typically, the virus will get in.
“You might be preventing towards an invisible enemy.”
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