Official figures from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that more and more wild birds have become infected with this news strain of bird flu and spreading the disease. This has lead to some of the country’s trading partners have also banned imports of poultry products.
Another form of the bird flu virus, known as the goose/Cantonese strain, has wreaked havoc on the U.S. poultry industry, killing more than 47 million chickens and turkeys from the infection this year.
The situation has added to the economic pressure on consumers already grappling with rising inflation, according to Reuters. The strain has also spread to Europe, where European farmers are already suffering from the worst avian flu crisis in history, killing nearly 50 million birds.
Having found the subtype in a wider range of wild birds and appeared to live longer in birds, it is likely that the risk of infection will remain high until migration begins in the summer of 2023.
2015 was the worst animal health incident in US history, killing or killing 50.5 million birds from avian flu.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has introduced stringent biosecurity measures amid the largest bird flu epidemic on record.
The Chief Veterinary Officers of England, Scotland and Wales have declared bird flu prevention zones across the UK to prevent the spread of the disease among poultry and other captive birds.
This follows an increase in the number of bird flu cases at our establishments. According to the BBC, there have been 190 confirmed cases in poultry flocks across the UK since the end of October 2021, and he has more than 30 confirmed cases since early October this year.
The UK Health and Security Agency has announced that producers with more than 500 birds should restrict access to their sites to non-essential people. “Workers should change their clothing and shoes before entering bird enclosures, and on-site vehicles should be cleaned and disinfected regularly to limit the risk of spreading disease. Avian influenza is naturally transmitted to wild birds, but poultry and other captive birds can transmit the disease through migration,” reports the BBC.
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