Information fra CIWF om fugleinfluenza

Dyreværnsorganisationen Compassion in World Farming udsendte i oktober 2005 information om fugleinfluenza. Da budskaberne stadig er gyldige og aktuelle bringer vi oplysningerne her:

AVIAN INFLUENZA

The rapid spread of highly pathogenic avian flu during the last few years is historically unprecedented and of great concern for human health, agriculture and animal welfare.

CIWF believes that even in such times of crisis we cannot neglect animal welfare. CIWF urges all governments and agencies undertaking emergency slaughter to use humane methods of killing to protect the animals from pain and distress - animals should be killed instantly, or they should be stunned before killing and remain unconscious until death. We urge that professional veterinarians oversee animal welfare aspects of the disease management plans and that all staff are trained and competent in humane slaughter, with appropriate equipment available.

It is now time for all governments to review their farming policy and the way animals are reared in industrial systems. As has been sadly realised, much is at stake, both for animals and humans, if we fail to ensure the health and welfare of the animals we farm.

What is avian influenza?

Avian influenza (AI) is an infectious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect birds and, less commonly, pigs. The disease occurs worldwide. While all bird species are thought to be susceptible to infection, domestic poultry flocks are especially at risk of infections that can spread very rapidly.

There are two forms of the disease:

High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is very infectious in birds and can cause high death rates in poultry. There are different strains of the virus. The strain H5N1 is a highly pathogenic strain of concern for human health.

How avian influenza is spread

Migratory waterfowl, especially wild ducks, and shorebirds are carriers of the AI virus but they are the most resistant to infection. However, it can be passed onto domestic poultry from these wild birds.

It can be passed on by contact with wild migratory waterfowl via their droppings or via airborne virus. Contaminated equipment, vehicles, feed, cages, shoes and clothing can carry the virus from farm to farm. The virus can also be carried on the feet and bodies of animals, such as rodents, and maybe even flies. Live or "wet" markets, where live birds are sold under crowded and sometimes unsanitary conditions, can play an important role in the spread of epidemics.

The disease can spread from country to country through international trade in live poultry. Migratory birds, including wild waterfowl, sea birds, and shore birds, can carry the virus for long distances and excrete it in their droppings. These birds have been implicated in the international spread of the very infectious version of avian influenza.

What is the risk to human health?

Public health officials are alarmed by the unprecedented outbreaks of the flu virus in poultry for several reasons. First, most (but not all) of the major outbreaks recently reported in Asia have been caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain.

Avian influenza viruses do not normally infect species other than birds and pigs. The first documented infection of humans with an avian influenza virus occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, when 6 people died. Studies showed that the infected humans had had close contact with live infected poultry, and that the virus had jumped directly from birds to humans. Some health care workers did become infected, but were not severely ill.

The second and much greater concern is the possibility of another influenza 'pandemic' in humans. This can happen if a human is infected with viruses from both avian and human flu strains. The viruses can swap genes, giving rise to a completely new sub-type of the flu virus to which few, if any, humans would have natural immunity. Existing flu vaccines would not be effective against a completely new influenza virus and the virus could spread through the human population rapidly.

Most alarming would be a situation in which person-to-person transmission resulted in successive generations of severe disease with high death rates. This was the situation during the great influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, when a completely new influenza virus subtype emerged and spread around the globe, in around 4 to 6 months. Several waves of infection occurred over 2 years, killing an estimated 40-50 million people.

It has long been thought that living in close proximity to domestic poultry and pigs can favour the conditions that viruses need for their genes to swap. This is because pigs are susceptible to infection with viruses from birds and mammals, including human strains. Pigs can therefore serve as a "mixing vessel" for the scrambling of genetic material from human and avian viruses, resulting in the emergence of a new subtype.

Most experts agree that another influenza pandemic will occur and may be imminent. The World Health Organisation's foremost aim is to try and prevent an influenza pandemic.

Control of avian influenza outbreaks in poultry

HPAI outbreaks have been generally controlled by rapid "culling" or "stamping out" of all infected or exposed birds, quarantine and disinfection of farms, and restrictions on the movement of live poultry, both within and between countries. However, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) have now recognised that it is no longer acceptable to "control and eradicate diseases mainly by applying mass killing of animals".

Vaccination is increasingly being developed to control AI and has been successfully used in several countries. However, vaccination alone cannot prevent all AI outbreaks and culling is still undertaken to prevent its spread when birds are infected.

Major outbreaks of avian flu are most likely where there are large numbers of poultry in a geographical area, because this gives the potential for a large number of birds to be affected, and there is more opportunity for the virus to reproduce, with a higher risk of mutations of the virus that may lead to high pathogenicity.

The increase in animal diseases such as avian flu seems to mirror the rapid growth of intensive animal farming in Asia. It is now time for all governments to question their farming policy and the way animals are reared in industrial systems. As has been sadly realised, much is at stake, both for animals and humans, if we fail to ensure the health and welfare of the animals we farm.

The animal welfare concerns of mass slaughter

Mass culling of animals always raises a conflict between speedy dispatch and humane slaughter methods. This has particularly been a problem in many Asian countries where birds may be drowned, burned or buried alive. It is always completely unacceptable, even with the scale of this outbreak, to allow any creature to be killed by such cruel methods, and by untrained or inexperienced personnel. We cannot neglect animal welfare even in times of crisis.

CIWF urges all governments and agencies undertaking emergency slaughter to use humane methods of killing to protect the animals from pain and distress - animals should be killed instantly, or they should be stunned before killing and remain unconscious until death.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and its 167 member countries agreed on global standards for humane killing for disease control in May 2005. The OIE guidelines require that professional veterinarians oversee animal welfare aspects of the disease management plans and that all staff are trained and competent in humane slaughter, with appropriate equipment available. Only certain methods of killing, known to be more humane, are prescribed in the guidelines. CIWF urges that nations to adhere to these standards if they are forced into the position of emergency slaughter. CIWF proposes that decisions on the emergency slaughter should only take place under the guidance of veterinary experts such as countries' Chief Veterinary Officers. Countries that are likely to be affected by this terrible situation are urged to ensure that they have proper equipment and trained personnel to protect both animal welfare and worker safety.

Free range poultry and avian flu

CIWF recognises that taking the precaution of keeping free range poultry indoors temporarily when there is a genuinely high risk to bird health is a reasonable part of an overall disease prevention strategy. The decision to undertake such action should be made on the advice of relevant veterinary experts and should last no longer than is necessary to protect bird health.

Få mere information her:

Se mere på Compassion in World Farmings hjemmeside: www.ciwf.org

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) www.oie.int

World Health Organisation Avian influenza updates/en

Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations www.fao.org

5. september 2006. Aktive Dyrerettigheder

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