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AVIAN INFLUENZA (08): ISRAEL (HAIFA) RESOLVED, OIE
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Tue 2 Feb 2010
Source: OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database), weekly
disease information 2010; 23(5) [edited]
<http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=8912>
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, Israel
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Information received on (and dated) 2 Feb 2010 from Dr Moshe
Chaimovitz, Director, Veterinary Services and Animal Health, Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development, Beit Dagan, Israel
Report type: follow-up report no. 1 (final report)
Start date: 24 Jan 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 26 Jan 2010
Report date: 2 Feb 2010
Date submitted to OIE: 2 Feb 2010
Date event resolved: 2 Feb 2010
Reason for notification: reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: 4 Jan 2008
Manifestation of disease: clinical disease
Causal agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza virus serotype H5N1
Nature of diagnosis: suspicion, clinical, laboratory (basic),
laboratory (advanced), necropsy
This event pertains to the whole country
Related report: immediate notification (26 Jan 2010;
<http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=8888>).
Outbreaks
There are no new outbreaks in this report
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive.
The epidemiological investigation suspects contact with wild bird
droppings outside the affected poultry house [see commentary].
Epidemiological comments: all the birds were culled on 29 Jan 2010.
Control measures
Measures applied: stamping out; quarantine; movement control inside
the country; screening; zoning; disinfection of infected
premises/establishment(s); vaccination prohibited; no treatment of
affected animals.
Future reporting
The event is resolved. No more reports will be submitted.
--
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ProMED-mail
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[According to the initial report, this HPAI H5N1 outbreak involved a
farm in Kibbutz En Shemer, central Israel (province: Haifa; district:
Hadera; for a map, see the original OIE notification at the source URL
above). The farm included 3 poultry houses, containing a total of 43
000 'heavy breeder pullets' aged 16 weeks, kept under extremely high
biosecurity. Clinical signs occurred in only one of the 3 houses. The
number of clinical cases (a number which should be generally regarded
as an estimate) was 1000; 592 birds died, and all remaining animals,
in the affected as well as in the 2 clinically-unaffected houses, were
culled, totalling 42 408 poults. Reportedly, full compensation for the
direct and indirect losses by the culling (about 3 million Israeli
Shekels, equivalent to USD 809 000) is to be paid to the owners by the
State.
As stated, the epidemiological investigation raised a suspicion that
contact with wild bird droppings outside the affected poultry houses
could have led to the introduction of the virus. Being a biosecurity
plant, its staff is required to shower and change clothing when
entering the premises. However, after entering, they may walk between
the 3 houses in an (enclosed) yard, which is not covered. If infected
wild birds, flying above the yard, excrete their droppings there,
theoretically the mentioned scenario could be possible. So far,
however, there is no evidence of infection in local or migrating wild
birds. The farm is, reportedly, located several hundred meters from
fish ponds where wild birds land occasionally. The source of infection
may eventually remain unknown.
The absence of additional infection sources in the region has been
confirmed by the testing of all poultry flocks situated within the 3
km (2 mi) radius around the focus. These intensive measures, combined
with the immediate stamping-out of the entire population of the 3
houses of the affected farm and with quarantine measures, will
hopefully permit renewal of Israel's status of freedom from HPAI H5N1.
Another noticeable point is the seemingly low "apparent mortality
rate" of only 1.38 percent seen during the outbreak. One of the
possible explanations for such low mortality (and in fact, morbidity)
is the fact that this flock, like most commercial poultry in Israel,
is routinely (voluntarily) vaccinated against LPAI H9N2, a virus
regarded as endemic in the Middle East. We have noted that in this
particular farm, very high HI titres against H9 had been registered. A
recent paper authored by American and Israeli investigators included
the following statement: "Inactivated H9N2 vaccines are coming into
wider use and may help to reduce H9N2 disease severity and the
potential masking of infection with highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses"
(Ref 1).
According to the OIE Manual, vaccination against H9N2 infections has
been used also in Pakistan, Iran, China (People's Rep.), as well as
several countries in the Middle East. Observations from these
countries on possible cross protection against H5N1 (or its absence)
will be helpful.
Reference
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1. A Khalenkov, S Perk, A Panshin, N Golender, and RG Webster:
Modulation of the Severity of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza in
Chickens Previously Inoculated with Israeli H9N2 Influenza Viruses.
Virology. 2009 Jan 5; 383(1): 32-8; doi:10.1016/j.virol.2008.09.026.
Available at
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2632966/>. - Mod.AS]
[see also:
Avian influenza (05): Israel (HA) 20100127.0290
2008
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Avian influenza (08): Israel (H5N1), Portugal (LP H5N2), OIE 20080108.0100
Avian influenza (04): Israel, Bangladesh, China (Xinjiang) 20080104.0045
Avian influenza (03): Israel, correction 20080104.0040
Avian influenza (03): Israel, correction 20080104.0039
Avian influenza (03): Israel 20080103.0023
2007
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Avian influenza - worldwide (87): Russia, Israel 20060413.1098
Avian influenza - worldwide (73): Europe, Israel 20060331.0979
Avian influenza, human - worldwide (27): Indonesia, Israel 20060317.0828]
........................................arn/mj/jw
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