It’s the equal of lockdown for something with feathers.
As of Monday 7 November, all stored birds – whether or not they’re giant free-range flocks or passion racing pigeons – should be stored indoors or in coated outside cages.
Biosecurity measures like disinfecting automobiles, tools and boots are required in addition to bans on the motion of reside birds.
Extreme measures for an excessive state of affairs.
Europe is within the grips of a chook flu epidemic attributable to the extremely pathogenic H5N1 pressure of the virus.
It is extremely infectious and causes speedy sickness and loss of life in business flocks of chickens geese, turkeys and geese.
England has had occasional outbreaks of H5N1 because the virus first started spreading from China the place it originated in 1996.
The virus additionally brought on sporadic outbreaks in wild birds, notably wildfowl like geese geese and swans. Culling of contaminated flocks and curbs on the motion of birds stored outbreaks restricted in scope.
But this 12 months it has been totally different.
H5N1 spent the summer time inflicting continued outbreaks in wild birds with mass die-offs in seabirds and migratory wildfowl throughout a lot of the northern hemisphere.
It is believed the tons of of outbreaks on poultry farms this 12 months have been linked to unfold from wild birds into farms.
What’s modified?
Researchers finding out the genetics of the virus consider it has tailored indirectly, permitting it to be as well-suited to infecting wild birds as it’s farmed poultry.
If that state of affairs continues, the priority is chook flu turns into endemic in Europe, if it is not already. As effectively as ongoing outbreaks on farms, migratory birds arriving within the UK this autumn are dying in unprecedented numbers contaminated with H5N1.
A present frustration for conservationists is the impression that wild birds are being “blamed” for the present state of affairs.
However there may be good proof crowded, intensively farmed poultry flocks gave chook flu the chance to evolve into extremely infectious strains that are actually decimating wildlife.
Whichever is the case, one thing should be finished to interrupt the vicious cycle of an infection between wild birds and home ones.
The finest device could be chook flu jabs for farmed poultry. Several have been trialled on birds, and extra ready to be examined.
However, present commerce guidelines prohibit using chook flu vaccines. The concern being they might permit sure exporters to be extra lax in biosecurity measures resulting in the unfold of different ailments.
The present epidemic could pressure a rethink.
Source: information.sky.com”