Avian flu outbreaks are hitting several countries in Asia and the Middle East
Another highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza outbreak was reported by Iraq on a commercial poultry farm just outside Baghdad adding more concerns for the producers in the region, reports Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRP) from University of Minnesota.
Iran is also hit by an avian flu outbreak, authorities in Teheran being forced to cull 25 million head of poultry to stop the disease from spreading across the country. Other bad news came from Asia where several viruses are taking their toll on poultry businesses.
The avian flu outbreak in Iraq was reported on February 8, according to a report from World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). By now, 13,240 birds from a susceptible batch of 29,000 were killed by the H5N8 virus while the survivors were culled. Recent H5N8 cases were reported in Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Three Asian countries, Cambodia, South Korea and Taiwan are also fighting against bird flu outbreaks. The latest development in Cambodia reports a new H5N1 outbreak in Mondolkiri near the border with Vietnam. Cambodia has now reported five H5N1 outbreaks since December, but the latest event is the first in Mondolkiri.
South Korea is confronted with a new H5N6 outbreak in South Chungcheong province. The disease was first reported in November with several outbreaks since. Taiwan reported 16 more outbreaks involving highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza. The outbreaks were signalled at the beginning of 2018, striking birds in Pingtung, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Yilan counties, as well as the cities of Taichung and Tainan. Chickens, duck and geese were affected on the farms. 11.162 birds out of 129,859 were killed by the virus, the rest being culled as part of the outbreak response.
(Photo source: Flickr/CDC Global)
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