Avian influenza outbreak occurs at Italy turkey holding

An outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza has infected birds at a fattening turkey holding in Porto Viro, Italy. The outbreak marks the first time since August 2013 that the virus has been found in Italy.
According to a report from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), high mortality rates were found at the holding, with 1,219 turkeys dying. A total of 31,985 birds were susceptible.
Culling was scheduled to begin on December 16. Other control measures implemented include movement control inside the country and zoning. The infected premises will be vaccinated.
While reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction tests proved positive for avian influenza, the results of intravenous pathogenicity index and gene sequencing tests are pending. All tests have been performed at a national laboratory.
The exact cause of the Italian avian influenza outbreaks has not yet been determined.
With the outbreak, Italy becomes the latest in a series of European countries to be affected by avian influenza in recent months, as outbreaks have also been reported in the Netherlands, U.K. and Germany. Outside of Europe, recent avian influenza outbreaks have occurred in Canada, Japan, India and Japan.
OIE stated that it would submit weekly updates on the avian influenza situation in Italy until it is resolved.

European Commission authorizes CloSTAT for use in turkeys

In the Standing Committee for Animal Nutrition meeting in July, the European Commission voted to authorize the use of Kemin Industries' Bacillus subtilis PB6, CloSTAT, in turkeys for fattening; extending its existing approval for use in chickens for fattening, minor poultry species and piglets.
CloSTAT contains a proprietary strain of Bacillus subtilis PB6 that was isolated and selected by Kemin scientists from the intestine of healthy chickens that naturally coped with pathogenic strains of Clostridium spp. during a necrotic enteritis outbreak. After its continuous use as a preventative application in the field, it has consistently proven that CloSTAT can support intestinal health in poultry and livestock, improving welfare farm status as well as reducing mortalities and medication costs.
CloSTAT supports intestinal health by maintaining a natural microflora balance, regardless of the animal species affected. The active ingredient, Bacillus subtilis PB6, is a naturally spore-forming bacteria that offers interesting advantages for long-term storage without refrigeration or need for encapsulation, as it is heat stable for feed pelleting processes. CloSTAT is compatible with most standard coccidiostats used in the European Union, as well as organic acids when used via water application.
It is well known that intestinal integrity and microbial balance in commercial poultry and livestock are important factors that can determine an animal's capacity to reach its full genetic potential for growth and yield. In turkeys, just as in broilers, Clostridium spp. can cause diarrhea, poor nutrient assimilation, wet litter and long-term leg problems resulting in flock impairment with low zootechnical parameters.
Testimonials from producers and veterinarians across the world indicate that CloSTAT works effectively to maintain a balanced gastrointestinal tract, reducing intestinal Clostridial disorders while supporting the responsible use of antibiotics.
In view of current animal production challenges, CloSTAT is a true natural preventive solution to be considered by the turkey industry. 

Lack of approved drugs rated turkey industry’s top health issue

The lack of approved efficacious drugs continues to be the top disease issue facing the turkey industry, according to a report by three industry experts presented at the Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, held March 11–12, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Dr. Steven Clark, senior technical services veterinarian, Zoetis; Dr. Michelle Kromm, president of the Association of Veterinarians in Turkey Production; and Andrew Bailey, scientific and regulatory affairs manager for the National Turkey Federation, prepared the report after surveying turkey industry professionals and veterinarians regarding the health status of turkeys produced in August 2011 through August 2012. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most severe, the survey showed the lack of approved drugs ranking at a 4.8.
Highlighting the severity of the problem is the withdrawal of the New Animal Drug Application for enrofloxacin in 2005 for use in poultry, leaving the industry with no adequate therapeutic response to colibacillosis or fowl cholera.
The lack of approved drugs was also rated the most severe disease issue during the previous year.
Ranking second among major disease issues is cholstridial dermatitis, previously known as cellulitis. Seventy-six percent of survey respondents ranked it either as a 4 or a 5, giving it a cumulative rating of 3.8.
Colibacillosis was ranked as the third-greatest health problem for the second straight year. Respondents rated it at a 3.6, with heat stress ranked just slightly lower for its second consecutive year as the fourth-biggest health problem.
Late mortality and leg problems followed as the next most severe health issues, with both earning a cumulative rating of 3.

Turkeys safe from airborne transmission of mycoplasmosis

Government and academic researchers at Mississippi State University have found that, even within a single tunnel-ventilated poultry house, the agent Mycoplasma gallisepticum was unable to be transmitted even a short distance down-airstream to spread infection.
The research should help settle the worries of turkey producers in particular, who worry about the possibility of the airborne transmission of the common bacterial agent for infectious sinusitis to their flocks from nearby poultry operations. “Because turkeys are more susceptible to MG infection than chickens, this has led to some concern among turkey growers that their birds could become infected by strains of the disease that might be carried from broiler and layer farms in their vicinity,” said Dr. Joseph Purswell, the article’s lead author and a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service at Mississippi State. “Our work strongly suggests that this is a highly unlikely possibility.”
The researchers’ objective was to compare transmission of uncharacterized layer complex-derived Mycoplasma gallisepticum strains with commercially available, live F-strain Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccine among poultry species in tunnel-ventilated housing. At the end of the 106-day trial period, the researchers found that neither the commercial FMG vaccine strain nor the LCD-MG strains were transmitted beyond the pens containing the inoculated turkeys. According to Purswell, the results of the study “support the notion that the F strain of MG is no more transmissible than other endemic field strains of MG.”

Russia, Japan halt N.C. poultry imports on avian influenza concerns

Russia and Japan have halted imports of poultry from North Carolina after initial tests on a flock of turkeys came back positive for low-pathogenic avian influenza, said Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Further tests were unable to isolate the virus, signaling that this isn’t a positive case, and there are no signs of disease in the birds, said Cole. “There are no clinical signs of avian influenza in this flock,” she said. “We have no reason to believe that the virus is present.” 

Avian influenza in Manitoba controlled

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has lifted quarantine restrictions following successful containment and eradication of an avian influenza outbreak in Manitoba. Eggs and poults in a turkey hatchery were destroyed and live birds on the index farm were depopulated using carbon dioxide.
The infected farm will remain under quarantine for 21 days in accordance with World Organization for Animal Health recommendations. The rapid response to the outbreak including recognition, diagnosis and containment averted dissemination of infection from the affected farm.

Chile confirms H1N1 spread from humans to turkeys

Chile's health ministry has confirmed the first reports of the H1N1 virus spreading from people to turkeys on two farms, as reported by the Associated Press. The farms are located outside the city of Valparaiso.
The farms have been quarantined, the World Health Organization has been alerted and all safety measures available are being taken to prevent further spread of the disease.
Chile's Institute of Public Health said that the detection of the virus raises the "possibility that this may happen in Asia or Africa under conditions of co-infection with H5N1 virus."