Movement Of Poultry Research Articles

Isolation and characterization of <i>Salmonella enterica </i> associated with diarrhea in chickens and ducks in Hai Duong province

Salmonella infections, or salmonellosis, represent a significant threat to poultry health and the global poultry industry, leading to considerable economic losses and serving as a major source of foodborne illnesses in humans and animals. Identifying the specific strains present in local poultry farms is crucial for implementing targeted interventions, including the development of effective biosecurity measures, vaccination strategies, and treatment protocols to mitigate outbreaks. This study focuses on isolating and characterizing Salmonella strains associated with diarrhea in chickens and ducks in Hai Duong province, Vietnam. The Salmonella strains were initially isolated using a culture-based method, followed by identification and characterization through Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization/Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF), PCR amplification of the invA gene, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. As a result, 18 Salmonella isolates were obtained, all of which contained the invA gene, indicating its potential significance in Salmonella pathogenesis. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that all isolates belonged to the species Salmonella enterica, a well-known causative agent of intestinal diseases in humans and animals. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis revealed that all 18 isolates grouped with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica strains from China and Korea, suggesting a close relationship with strains circulating in the broader Southeast Asian region. This regional similarity may be attributed to the movement of poultry and poultry products, facilitating the cross-border spread of Salmonella. Our findings underscore the importance of implementing robust biosafety measures throughout the poultry production chain to control the spread of Salmonella, thereby enhancing both animal and food safety.

Deep Learning Methods for Tracking the Locomotion of Individual Chickens.

Poultry locomotion is an important indicator of animal health, welfare, and productivity. Traditional methodologies such as manual observation or the use of wearable devices encounter significant challenges, including potential stress induction and behavioral alteration in animals. This research introduced an innovative approach that employs an enhanced track anything model (TAM) to track chickens in various experimental settings for locomotion analysis. Utilizing a dataset comprising both dyed and undyed broilers and layers, the TAM model was adapted and rigorously evaluated for its capability in non-intrusively tracking and analyzing poultry movement by intersection over union (mIoU) and the root mean square error (RMSE). The findings underscore TAM's superior segmentation and tracking capabilities, particularly its exemplary performance against other state-of-the-art models, such as YOLO (you only look once) models of YOLOv5 and YOLOv8, and its high mIoU values (93.12%) across diverse chicken categories. Moreover, the model demonstrated notable accuracy in speed detection, as evidenced by an RMSE value of 0.02 m/s, offering a technologically advanced, consistent, and non-intrusive method for tracking and estimating the locomotion speed of chickens. This research not only substantiates TAM as a potent tool for detailed poultry behavior analysis and monitoring but also illuminates its potential applicability in broader livestock monitoring scenarios, thereby contributing to the enhancement of animal welfare and management in poultry farming through automated, non-intrusive monitoring and analysis.

An overlooked poultry trade network of the smallholder farms in the border provinces of Thailand, 2021: implications for avian influenza surveillance.

In Thailand, community-level poultry trade is conducted on a small-scale involving farmers and traders with many trade networks. Understanding the poultry movements may help identify different activities that farmers and traders might contribute to the spread of avian influenza. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of players involved in the poultry trade network at the northeastern border of Thailand using network analysis approaches. Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom provinces, which border Laos, and Ubon Ratchathani province, which borders both Laos and Cambodia, were selected as survey sites. Local veterinary officers identified and interviewed 338 poultry farmers and eight poultry traders in 2021. A weighted directed network identified incoming and outgoing movements of where the subdistricts traded chickens. Ninety-nine subdistricts and 181 trade links were captured. A self-looping (trader and consumer in the same subdistrict) feedback was found in 56 of 99 subdistricts. The median distance of the movements was 14.02 km (interquartile range (IQR): 6.04-102.74 km), with a maximum of 823.08 km. Most subdistricts in the network had few poultry trade connections, with a median of 1. They typically connected to 1-5 other subdistricts, most often receiving poultry from 1 to 2.5 subdistricts, and sending to 1-2 subdistricts. The subdistricts with the highest overall and in-degree centrality were located in Mukdahan province, whereas one with the highest out-degree centrality was found in Nakhon Phanom province. The poultry movement pattern observed in this network helps explain how avian influenza could spread over the networks once introduced.

Research Note: Factors influencing highly pathogenic avian influenza preventive behavior among live poultry market vendors

In China, fresh food has always been a top priority and live poultry has been a staple in the diet for thousands of years. As a result, the live poultry market (LPM) remains a popular and important source for purchasing live poultry among the public. However, LPMs also play a crucial role in spreading and retaining highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) due to the high poultry movement and trade volume. Therefore, the preventive behavior of LPM vendors is essential in blocking the transmission of HPAI and reducing occupational exposure. Based on the health belief model, this study utilized structural equation modeling to examine the effect of risk perceptions on preventive behavior among vendors in the live poultry wholesale market (wLPM) and the live poultry retail market (rLPM) in Guangdong Province. The results indicated that perceived severity and perceived benefits positively influenced the wLPM vendors' ability to adopt preventive behavior (i.e., self-efficacy) while perceived barriers negatively affected self-efficacy in both wLPM and rLPM. Moreover, cues to action positively mediated the relationship between perceived severity, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy of wLPM and rLPM vendors. Cues to action also positively mediated the effect of perceived susceptibility among wLPM vendors. To promote preventive behavior among vendors, the market management companies and the government must provide timely and effective HPAI information through various channels and develop differentiated health campaigns according to the market types to raise vendors' awareness about HPAI.

Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of FAdV-4 from Indigenous Chicken Breeds in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China.

Fowl adenovirus-induced hepatitis-pericardial effusion syndrome outbreaks have been increasingly reported in China since 2015, resulting in substantial economic losses to the poultry industry. The genetic diversity of indigenous chicken results in different immune traits, affecting the evolution of these viruses. Although the molecular epidemiology of fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) has been well studied in commercial broiler and layer chickens, the prevalence and genetic characteristics of FAdV-4 in indigenous chickens remain largely unknown. In this study, samples were collected from six indigenous chicken breeds in Yunnan province, China. FAdV-positive samples were identified in five of the six indigenous chicken populations via PCR and 10 isolates were obtained. All FAdVs belonged to serotype FAdV-4 and species FAdV-C. The hexon, fiber, and penton gene sequence comparison analysis demonstrated that the prevalence of FAdV-4 isolates in these chickens might have originated from other provinces that exported chicks and poultry products to Yunnan province. Moreover, several distinct amino acid mutations were firstly identified in the major structural proteins. Our findings highlighted the need to decrease inter-regional movements of live poultry to protect indigenous chicken genetic resources and that the immune traits of these indigenous chickens might result in new mutations of FAdV-4 strains.

Spatiotemporal analysis of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) outbreaks in poultry in Egypt (2006 to 2017)

BackgroundIn Egypt, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 is endemic and possesses a severe impact on the poultry. To provide a better understanding of the distributional characteristics of HPAI H5N1 outbreaks in Egypt, this study aimed to explore the spatiotemporal pattern and identify clusters of HPAI H5N1 outbreaks in Egypt from 2006 to 2017.ResultsThe Epidemic curve (EC) was constructed through time series analysis; in which six epidemic waves (EWs) were revealed. Outbreaks mainly started in winter peaked in March and ended in summer. However, newly emerged thermostable clades (2.2.1.1 and 2.2.1.2) during the 4th EW enabled the virus to survive and cause infection in warmer months with a clear alteration in the seasonality of the epidemic cycle in the 5th EW. The endemic situation became more complicated by the emergence of new serotypes. As a result, the EC ended up without any specific pattern since the 6th EW to now. The spatial analysis showed that the highest outbreak density was recorded in the Nile Delta considering it as the ‘Hot spot’ region. By the 6th EW, the outbreak extended to include the Nile valley. From spatiotemporal cluster epidemics, clustering in the Delta was a common feature in all EWs with primary clusters consistently detected in the hot-spot region, but the location and size varied with each EW. The highest Relative Risk (RR) regions in an EW were noticed to contain the primary clusters of the next EW and were found to include stopover sites for migratory wild birds. They were in Fayoum, Dakahlia, Qalyobiya, Sharkia, Kafr_Elsheikh, Giza, Behera, Menia, and BeniSuef governorates. Transmission of HPAI H5N1 occurred from one location to another directly resulted in a series of outbreaks forming neighboring secondary clusters. The absence of geographical borders between the governorates in addition to non-restricted movements of poultry and low vaccination and surveillance coverage contributed to the wider spread of infection all over Egypt and to look like one epidemiological unit.ConclusionOur findings can help in better understanding of the characteristics of HPAI H5N1 outbreaks and the distribution of outbreak risk, which can be used for effective disease control strategies.Graphical abstract

Lessons learned from three avian influenza simulation exercises in the southwest of France

The Southwest of France raises different species of poultry. These production activities present structural vulnerabilities to severe infectious diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza. Indeed, many farms have free-range flocks, multi-age and multi-species productions, while being located near wild bird migratory corridors. These factors may partly explain the H5 virus epidemics that occurred between 2015 and 2021. Their serious economic and technical consequences and psychological impact have generated solidarity, collective learning and operational cohesiveness among all poultry professionals. Consequently, a decision was made to conduct annual simulation exercises for a major health event in order to maintain a high level of vigilance and responsiveness within different poultry sectors. Three exercises took place, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, in semi-real conditions (real dates and compressed time) and according to different scenarios. They took place outside an epidemic context and have in common to focus on the initial phase of the crisis (suspicions, results of preliminary analyzes), which is critical to assess the reactivity of industry personnel in order to mitigate infectious disease spread. The preparation of the simulation exercises was based on a common methodology. They were created by an organizing team and each included up to 60 people (industry personnel, observers and auditors). These simulations highlighted several critical points: poultry professionals have detailed knowledge of the field, but this information can only be effectively obtained and used if there is already a poultry industry decision-making structure in place (with good networking); there is a need (1) for better information sharing within the industry; (2) to develop an assistance structure for producers directly involved in a crisis; and (3) to increase collaboration with State services in peacetime. Finally, several technical issues were raised regarding control zones; blocking poultry movements; production site quarantine; depopulation strategies; self-financing capacity of the poultry industry in the absence of governmental involvement; and enhanced mapping tools with real-time traceability of animal transportation.

Using multiple data sources to explore disease transmission risk between commercial poultry, backyard poultry, and wild birds in New Zealand

The movements of backyard poultry and wild bird populations are known to pose a disease risk to the commercial poultry industry. However, it is often difficult to estimate this risk due to the lack of accurate data on the numbers, locations, and movement patterns of these populations. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the use of three different data sources when investigating disease transmission risk between poultry populations in New Zealand including (1) cross-sectional survey data looking at the movement of goods and services within the commercial poultry industry, (2) backyard poultry sales data from the online auction site TradeMe®, and (3) citizen science data from the wild bird monitoring project eBird.The cross-sectional survey data and backyard poultry sales data were transformed into network graphs showing the connectivity of commercial and backyard poultry producers across different geographical regions. The backyard poultry network was also used to parameterise a Susceptible-Infectious (SI) simulation model to explore the behaviour of potential disease outbreaks. The citizen science data was used to create an additional map showing the spatial distribution of wild bird observations across New Zealand. To explore the potential for diseases to spread between each population, maps were combined into bivariate choropleth maps showing the overlap between movements within the commercial poultry industry, backyard poultry trades and, wild bird observations.Network analysis revealed that the commercial poultry network was highly connected with geographical clustering around the urban centres of Auckland, New Plymouth and Christchurch. The backyard poultry network was also a highly active trade network and displayed similar geographic clustering to the commercial network. In the disease simulation models, the high connectivity resulted in all suburbs becoming infected in 96.4 % of the SI simulations. Analysis of the eBird data included reports of over 80 species; the majority of which were identified as coastal seabirds or wading birds that showed little overlap with either backyard or commercial poultry.Overall, our study findings highlight how the spatial patterns of trading activity within the commercial poultry industry, alongside the movement of backyard poultry and wild birds, have the potential to contribute significantly to the spread of diseases between these populations. However, it is clear that in order to fully understand this risk landscape, further data integration is needed; including the use of additional datasets that have further information on critical variables such as environmental factors.

Outbreak Investigation of Officially Reported and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N8 Subtype) in Iran During 2016.

On 14 November 2016, an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPA) was reported from a commercial layer farm located in Malard, Tehran Province, Iran. This study aimed to investigate the HPAI H5N8 outbreaks in Iran. The questionnaire was prepared and completed through interviews with farm owners or field observations at the time of disease onset from November 2016 to February 2017. The HPAI H5N8 infection was confirmed in 30 different locations including 10 villages (33.3%), nine-layer farms (33%), two broiler breeder farms (6.67%), one layer breeder farm (3.3%), one turkey farm (3.3%), one partridge farm (3.3%), five national parks (16.7%), and one wetland (3.3%) in 12 provinces of Iran. The cumulative incidence rates of disease in villages, layer farms, broiler breeder farms, layer breeder farms, partridge farms, and turkey farms were 0.02%, 0.87%, 0.55%, 6.25%, 7.14%, and 0.69%, respectively. The findings reflect that among the investigated variables at infected locations, new birds entering the home in villages, live bird markets, inappropriate biosecurity conditions, transporting manure during the breeding period, close proximity of a common road to infected farms, and poultry movement inside (pullet) and outside were the most frequently observed possible risk factors for these outbreaks. In conclusion, attention should be focused on the study of the dynamics and movements of domestic poultry, investigation and modification of the structure of industrial poultry farms, training for all related people, enhancement of passive surveillance, an increase in biosecurity, raising the awareness of the authorities on the importance of the infection, and provision of the required credits and facilities.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Subtype H5N8 in Poultry Farms, South Korea

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a zoonotic disease, is a major threat to humans and poultry health worldwide. In January 2014, HPAI virus subtype H5N8 first infected poultry farms in South Korea, and 393 outbreaks, overall, were reported with enormous economic damage in the poultry industry. We analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of HPAI H5N8 outbreaks in poultry farms using the global and local spatiotemporal interaction analyses in the first (January to July 2014) and second (September 2014 to June 2015) outbreak waves. The space–time K-function analyses revealed significant interactions within three days and in an over-40 km space–time window between the two study periods. The excess risk attributable value (D0) was maintained despite the distance in the case of HPAI H5N8 in South Korea. Eleven spatiotemporal clusters were identified, and the results showed that the HPAI introduction was from the southwestern region, and spread to the middle region, in South Korea. This spatiotemporal interaction indicates that the HPAI epidemic in South Korea was mostly characterized by short period transmission, regardless of the distance. This finding supports strict control strategies such as preemptive depopulation, and poultry movement tracking. Further studies are needed to understand HPAI disease transmission patterns.

Phylogenetic Inference Using Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) in the Poultry Red Mite, Dermanyssus gallinae in the United Kingdom Relative to a European Framework.

The poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), an obligatory blood feeding ectoparasite, is primarily associated with laying hens where it is estimated to cause losses of ~€231 million per annum to European farmers. Moderate to high infestation levels result in negative impacts on hen welfare, including increased cannibalism, irritation, feather pecking, restlessness, anemia, and mortality. Acaricides are currently the prevailing method of population control for D. gallinae, although resistance against some classes of acaricide has been widely reported. The development of resistance highlights a growing need for research into alternative control methods, including the development of a suitable and effective vaccine. Understanding the genetic structure of D. gallinae populations can support improved management of acaricide resistance and sustainability of future vaccines, but limited data are currently available. The aim of this study was to characterize D. gallinae isolates from Europe, targeting the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene to gain an insight into population structure and genetic diversity of currently circulating mites. Dermanyssus gallinae isolates were collected from Albania, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Genomic DNA was extracted from individual adult D. gallinae mites and a 681bp fragment of the COI gene was amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of 195 COI sequences confirmed the presence of multiple lineages across Europe with 76 distinct haplotypes split across three main haplogroups and six sub-haplogroups. Importantly there is considerable inter- and intra-country variation across Europe, which could result from the movement of poultry or transfer of contaminated equipment and/or materials and husbandry practices.

Geographical variation in the risk of H7N9 human infections in China: implications for risk-based surveillance

The influenza A (H7N9) subtype remains a public health problem in China affecting individuals in contact with live poultry, particularly at live bird markets. Despite enhanced surveillance and biosecurity at LBMs H7N9 viruses are now more widespread in China. This study aims to quantify the temporal relationship between poultry surveillance results and the onset of human H7N9 infections during 2013–2017 and to estimate risk factors associated with geographical risk of H7N9 human infections in counties in Southeast China. Our results suggest that poultry surveillance data can potentially be used as early warning indicators for human H7N9 notifications. Furthermore, we found that human H7N9 incidence at county-level was significantly associated with the presence of wholesale LBMs, the density of retail LBMs, the presence of poultry virological positives, poultry movements from high-risk areas, as well as chicken population density and human population density. The results of this study can influence the current AI H7N9 control program by supporting the integration of poultry surveillance data with human H7N9 notifications as an early warning of the timing and areas at risk for human infection. The findings also highlight areas in China where monitoring of poultry movement and poultry infections could be prioritized.

UKRAINE’S PLACE AND CHALLENGES IN THE EASTERN EUROPEAN PRODUCTION OF CHICKEN EGGS

Research subject. This report examines the current situation in poultry egg sector development in countries of Eastern Europe, features and challenges for Ukrainian eggs sector. The aim of the work is to summarize theoretical and practical aspects of improving the economic efficiency of poultry industry enterprises, to analyse the current state of the organization of egg poultry production, to develop and substantiate general recommendations for improving the state of the poultry industry at specialized enterprises. The methodology of the study includes statistical methods and methods of economic and comparative analysis, etc. The article presents the results of research on the dynamics of poultry development in Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular. The movement of poultry, the level of poultry production and the production of chicken eggs, consumption of poultry products are analysed. The functional and organizational structure of the poultry business in Ukraine is developed. The general structure of poultry production allocation is provided, which proves the formation of poultry farming as an industrial business and reduction in the share of poultry keeping in households due to the concentration of production in specialized enterprises. The main producers of poultry products in Ukraine are revised. The dynamics of sales prices for chicken eggs and main factors influencing its annual fluctuations are investigated. The export potential of poultry farming is analysed, as well as the main importer countries of Ukrainian poultry production. The issue of modern challenges and problem areas of production of the corresponding products is investigated, concerning less manoeuvrability of small poultry farms, their inability to influence the conjuncture of the poultry market. The main threats to the activities of enterprises are named, first of all, by external factors: the economic situation in the country, which affects purchasing power of buyers, the level of egg prices, increased competition from large enterprises and enterprises of EU member states, livestock diseases and the epidemiological situation in the country. The analysis of the possibilities of further development of poultry farms, taking into account the existing potential and modern poultry business problems, is carried out. The main directions for improving production with the aim of improving the efficiency of the poultry industry are determined: improving biotechnological processes, providing a set of measures improving poultry, compliance stocking density of birds in the poultry house, proper nutrition by scientifically grounded norms of consumption of nutrients and elements; improvement of methodological basis of state supervision over the quality and safety of food products and raw materials; creation of modern instrumental analytical framework and quality control and safety of food raw materials and foodstuffs, etc.

Migratory waterfowls from Europe as potential source of highly pathogenic avian influenza infection to Nigeria poultry

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was detected for the first time in Nigeria and Africa in 2006. The source of the outbreak was not immediately clear, but scientific opinions favoured multiple introductions. The need to evaluate available epidemiological and virological data to demonstrate most probable source of introduction is important for focused control efforts. In this study, we described ten years (2006-2016) scientific observations available through ecology, epidemio-surveillance and molecular virology of avian influenza in Nigeria. Nigeria is geographically located in the tropical humid region with abundant wetlands presenting ideal ambience for birdlife. Ornithological evidence also showed that the country lies in the path of two major migratory flyways from Europe and Asia providing opportunities for co-mingling of different species and age of wild birds with resident birds. Genomic characterization including phylogenetic analysis revealed a high degree of homology among virus strains isolated in Nigeria and those detected in migratory birds from Europe suggesting common source epidemic. This study agreed with postulation that migratory wild birds from Europe may be responsible for the introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N1 to Nigeria. Feral waterfowls around water bodies thereafter bridge transmission to domestic poultry holdings whereas local trade and movement of poultry and poultry products may further spread infection locally. In the light of this understanding, routine risk based sentinel surveillance for avian influenza in domestic waterfowls in ecological hotspots is recommended for early detection and response thereby saving economic losses and mitigating public health emergencies. Keywords: Avian influenza, Migratory waterfowls, Nigeria, Poultry

Avian Influenza Outbreaks and Surveillance in Live Bird Markets, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, 2015-2017

Over 5,000 outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) have occurred in Vietnam, with more than 60 million birds infected and destroyed from 2003 to 2015. This study aimed to describe the AI situation and associated risk factors after 2015. Outbreaks, surveillance and molecular characteristics data in Quang Ninh Province from 2015 to 2017 were gathered from Regional Animal Health Office Number 2. Risk factors for AI virus found in live bird markets (LBMs) were identified using odds ratios (OR) with 95% level of confidence. Ten outbreaks of AI were reported in the border area between Quang Ninh Province and China. The AI active surveillance detected viruses in LBMs from 37.3% (227/608) of the samples. Of these, 7.0% (16/227) were H5N6, and all 608 samples were negative for H5N1 and H7 subtypes. Poultry at LBMs in Quang Ninh imported from Bac Giang Province was slightly more likely to be infected with AI (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.01-2.04). Provincial and national animal health authorities should continue to conduct active surveillance and strictly enforce poultry movement control from China as well as stop transportation of infected poultry across provinces in Viet Nam.

Live Poultry Trading Drives China's H7N9 Viral Evolution and Geographical Network Propagation.

The on-going reassortment, human-adapted mutations, and spillover events of novel A(H7N9) avian influenza viruses pose a significant challenge to public health in China and globally. However, our understanding of the factors that disseminate the viruses and drive their geographic distributions is limited. We applied phylogenic analysis to examine the inter-subtype interactions between H7N9 viruses and the closest H9N2 lineages in China during 2010–2014. We reconstructed and compared the inter-provincial live poultry trading and viral propagation network via phylogeographic approach and network similarity technique. The substitution rates of the isolated viruses in live poultry markets and the characteristics of localized viral evolution were also evaluated. We discovered that viral propagation was geographically-structured and followed the live poultry trading network in China, with distinct north-to-east paths of spread and circular transmission between eastern and southern regions. The epicenter of H7N9 has moved from the Shanghai–Zhejiang region to Guangdong Province was also identified. Besides, higher substitution rate was observed among isolates sampled from live poultry markets, especially for those H7N9 viruses. Live poultry trading in China may have driven the network-structured expansion of the novel H7N9 viruses. From this perspective, long-distance geographic expansion of H7N9 were dominated by live poultry movements, while at local scales, diffusion was facilitated by live poultry markets with highly-evolved viruses.

Combining value chain and social network analysis as a viable tool for informing targeted disease surveillance in the rural poultry sector of Zambia.

Diseases are among the greatest challenges to the rural poultry sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The lack of a sustainable poultry disease surveillance system and the possible existence of communities and occasions where the interaction between birds is high present an opportunity for targeted surveillance of poultry diseases in these regions. However, the establishment of such a system requires adequate knowledge of the sector in the targeted area. Zambia is an example of a developing country located in the tropics that faces the challenge of frequent poultry disease outbreaks. Consequently, an interview-based survey to study the poultry sector's market chain and social networks was conducted in Eastern Zambia to derive information required for configuring targeted surveillance. This survey involved a poultry value chain analysis that also included an assessment of trading practices to identify biosecurity hot spots within the chain that could be targeted for disease surveillance. A social network analysis of poultry movement within Eastern Zambia was also conducted using whole-network analysis and ego network analysis to identify poultry trade hubs that could be targeted for poultry disease surveillance based on their centrality within the network and their size and influence within their ego networks. Rural farmers, middlemen and market traders were identified as biosecurity risk hot spots whose poultry and utensils could be targeted for disease surveillance within the value chain. Furthermore, social network analysis identified four districts as poultry trade hubs that could be targeted for disease surveillance. This study is the first to formally describe poultry movement networks within Zambia and the surrounding region. Its findings provide data required to implement targeted surveillance in regions where resources are either inadequate or non-existent, and the results provide a deeper understanding of the cultural and practical constraints that influence trade in developing countries.

Farm Biosecurity at backyard poultry of Bangladesh and its role in spread of HPAI

Objective: We have conducted this study to characterise the movement and contact patterns of poultry in Bangladesh that could be associated with transmission of newly-introduced subtypes of avian influenza virus in two districts of Bangladesh as well as to summarise the patterns arising from the network analysis in a way that can inform the parameterisation of spatially explicit stochastic models of transmission of newly-introduced subtypes of avian influenza virus in the two types of areas.Introduction: Bangladesh is a South Asian country with large human and poultry populations which is highly affected with frequent outbreaks of both high and low pathogenic avian influenza since 2007. Very few studies have been carried out to reveal the farm biosecurity at backyard poultry that might have contributed to the spread of avian influenza in Bangladesh, specially rural areas. Therefore, we aimed to characterize biosecurity practices of poultry farm including the movement of live birds which is a well-known risk factor for the geographic dissemination of the virus among poultry flocks and personnel hygiene of poultry workers for rapid detection and effective risk management of incursion of HPAI and LPAI viruses.Methods: This cross sectional survey was carried out using pretested questionnaire in backyard Poultry holdings of Kalkini Upazila of Madaripur district in Dhaka division which has a relatively low proportion of commercial poultry farms and high proportion of backyard poultry holdings.1-mode and 2-mode social network analysis was also carried out to show the farm to farm movements. From each primarily selected farm, details of the last 2 movements of live poultry along with source/destination details was collected with pre-tested questionnaire. Later, data was stored in Epi-Info, analysed with STATA 14 and UCINET. 315 backyard HH from 2 villages of Kalkini Upazila, Madaripur District were randomly selected.Results: The study revealed that majority backyard farm owners do not maintain the standard biosecurity measures whereas a significant amount of the study included farms rear multiple poultry species. No poultry workers found to use any personal protective equipments (PPEs) while cleaning the litter/mats (Figure 2). The farms with multiple poultry species feed them in same container and keep them in same shed which is a major risk factor for disease transmission.Movement patterns differed in a number of aspects (Table 1) and this information is useful for the establishment of the movement parameter settings in a simulation model of avian influenza incursion.Conclusions: The findings on farm biosecurity practices and movement pattern from this study will support to develop risk-based surveillance and contingency policies as well as to minimize the spread between poultry units and also from poultry to people for novel AI viruses in Bangladesh.

Adaptive ability of the poultry and its importance in the selection of animals

An important property of living organisms is the ability to adapt to the influence ofthe externalfactors that is constant adaptation to environmental changes, while preserving the constancy of the internal environment. At the present levelof thedevelopment of poultry farming in agro farms of different types, the choice of the most adaptive and competitive breeds and crossbreds of the poultry in the production of eggs and meat is of great importance. Farm animals are affected by various external factors such as technology of keeping, production, veterinary and prophylactic and zootechnical measures. According to various scientific sources, a significant number of poultry crosses are used in Ukraine, mainly for the selection of leading firms in the USA, Canada, and Western Europe (foreign breeds in Ukraine account about 80% of the total poultry population). They provide a high degree of implementation of the genetic productivity potential, butunder rather controlled, almost climatic conditions of keeping and feeding. At the same time, they are very responsive to changing of environment when used in the conditions of the breeding and commodity enterprises of Ukraine. This is due to the fact that the main economic-useful signs of the bird (bearing, weight of eggs, reproductive qualities) have polygenic inheritance and, accordingly, have a small fate of additivity of the operating genes. Therefore, in the new conditions of exploitation of cross-breeds of foreign selection on the indicated signs there is a significant influence of interaction «genotype × environment», which reduces the combinational ability of the family farms and, accordingly, manifestation of the heterosys effect. To preserve the structure of the cross, adaptation of the original family forms to the specific conditions of the poultry holdings is necessary, and then the implementation of supporting selection during mass selection of repair young animals. It should be taken into account that the suitability of imported lines, family forms or final bird hybrids is limited to the limits of their physiological response, since their heredity is formed in the conditions of the country where they are bred. The problem of adaptation of poultry in the conditions of industrial poultry farming is constantly relevant. The intensification of the industry leads to the new adaptation factors, in particular, different technological conditions for repair young animals and adult herds, changes in the recipes of feed and the quality of their components in other regions, the movement of poultry, stresses and so on. At the present, it is important to take into account both adaptive responses, acclimatization capacity of poultry and other animals imported from abroad, and selection according to the indicators of the reaction of the body for different methods of their study. In this regard, it is advisable to use crosses that have high adaptive capabilities.

A large-scale study of a poultry trading network in Bangladesh: implications for control and surveillance of avian influenza viruses

BackgroundSince its first report in 2007, avian influenza (AI) has been endemic in Bangladesh. While live poultry marketing is widespread throughout the country and known to influence AI dissemination and persistence, trading patterns have not been described. The aim of this study is to assess poultry trading practices and features of the poultry trading networks which could promote AI spread, and their potential implications for disease control and surveillance.Data on poultry trading practices was collected from 849 poultry traders during a cross-sectional survey in 138 live bird markets (LBMs) across 17 different districts of Bangladesh. The quantity and origins of traded poultry were assessed for each poultry type in surveyed LBMs. The network of contacts between farms and LBMs resulting from commercial movements of live poultry was constructed to assess its connectivity and to identify the key premises influencing it.ResultsPoultry trading practices varied according to the size of the LBMs and to the type of poultry traded. Industrial broiler chickens, the most commonly traded poultry, were generally sold in LBMs close to their production areas, whereas ducks and backyard chickens were moved over longer distances, and their transport involved several intermediates. The poultry trading network composed of 445 nodes (73.2% were LBMs) was highly connected and disassortative. However, the removal of only 5.6% of the nodes (25 LBMs with the highest betweenness scores), reduced the network’s connectedness, and the maximum size of output and input domains by more than 50%.ConclusionsPoultry types need to be discriminated in order to understand the way in which poultry trading networks are shaped, and the level of risk of disease spread that these networks may promote. Knowledge of the network structure could be used to target control and surveillance interventions to a small number of LBMs.