The Scottish government has ordered a cull of tens of thousands of hens after a mild strain of H5N1, or bird flu, was identified on a farm in Fife, it said on Wednesday. “Laboratory tests have identified a very mild strain of the H5N1 virus and a humane cull of almost 40,000 birds has now begun,” a statement said.
A woman in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has died after being infected with the highly contagious H5N6 bird flu virus, days after she was admitted to hospital, Hong Kong’s Health Department said on Wednesday. All border check points between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the airport, had already introduced disease prevention measures with thermal imaging systems in place, a department spokesman said. Hong Kong culled thousands of chickens and suspended imports of live poultry from mainland China in December 2014 after a H7 bird flu strain was discovered in live chickens.
The U.S. Agriculture Department wants to improve its handling of the nation's worst-ever outbreak of bird flu in poultry after coming under criticism for a slow and confusing response. The USDA is aiming to assign one person to communicate with each infected farm during the entire time the facility is affected by the deadly virus, John Clifford, the chief U.S. veterinary officer, said at a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday. Currently, a USDA representative deals with an infected farm for a period of about three to four weeks as part of a rotation, Clifford told lawmakers.
Two people have died of the H7N9 strain of avian flu in China's eastern province of Fujian, state media said Saturday, quoting local health officials. Fujian has confirmed 15 cases since the start of 2015, Xinhua news agency reported. Another human infection was reported in the adjacent province of Jiangxi on Friday, Xinhua said, while both the municipality of Shanghai and neighbouring Zhejiang province have reported cases “this winter”. Cases of the virus accelerated in China in 2014, with statistics compiled by health authorities in Beijing showing 310 cases were diagnosed on the mainland from January until December 10, including 132 deaths.
HAMBURG (Reuters) – Germany will on Monday announce compulsory testing of ducks and geese for bird flu before slaughtering after two more cases of the H5N8 strain of the disease were discovered, the country’s agriculture ministry said. A new regulation forcing all ducks and geese to be tested for bird flu before slaughter will be announced later on Monday under urgent approval procedures, a ministry spokesperson said. It is set to take force on Tuesday, she said. This is because ducks and geese show late or even no clinical symptoms of the disease and intensified monitoring is needed, she …