The Department of Agriculture has said no avian influenza has been found in samples taken from five birds in a local poultry flock that was euthanised after suspected cases were detected in preliminary rapid antigen tests.
The DoA, in a statement on Thursday, said it received the negative results from the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests that were conducted at a laboratory in the United States.
Earlier this month, the DoA alerted the public to the suspected cases and said the flock in question had been “humanely euthanised” and the area placed under quarantine restrictions.
It had also advised local poultry farmers to “enhance on-farm biosecurity protocols and restrict access to their poultry facilities” as it awaited the results of further testing on the suspected cases.
The DoA said the owner of the flock had been compensated for the loss, but emphasised that euthanising the chickens was the “best and most appropriate course of action to protect the islands’ poultry farmers”.
“In situations such as this, given the lack of on-island capacity for PCR testing for Avian Influenza, the time delay in receiving results from international laboratories and the highly infectious nature of the virus, the risk of waiting to take appropriate control measures is simply too great,” it said.
The DoA said sudden and extensive deaths of birds in a flock can be the result of a number of factors including, but not limited to, high levels of parasitic infection combined with other respiratory diseases and negative environmental conditions.
The department said it remains “best practice to test for Avian Influenza in all such instances of high mortality”.
The initial suspected cases were found during the DoA’s routine surveillance for the possible introduction of bird flu into the local poultry population. The additional testing was triggered after initial and subsequent testing was carried out on additional birds in one flock.
Its veterinary staff conduct preliminary rapid testing of all domestic poultry that have died of possible respiratory illnesses.
Transmission to humans rare and sporadic
The DoA previously pointed out that transmission of avian flu from birds to humans is rare and sporadic and happens in a specific context.
However, “people who are in close and repeated contact with infected birds or heavily contaminated environments are at risk for acquiring Avian Influenza.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Avian Influenza (or bird flu) is a disease of birds caused by infection with avian influenza A viruses.
“Infected birds shed bird flu virus in their saliva, mucous, and feces. People rarely get bird flu; however, human infections with bird flu viruses can happen if enough virus is inhaled or gets into a person’s mouth, eyes, or nose,” it said.
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