- A ProMED-mail post ProMED-mail is a program of the International
Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org
-
- Source: Okad ,Tues 20 Jan 2004, Issue NO 947 [in Arabic,
translation by a ProMED reader; edited]
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- Losses In The Millions For Farmers - No Proof Of Influenza
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- Sources related to the poultry industry in the Eastern
Province [of Saudi Arabia] revealed that 5 farms in Damamm, Al- Ehsaa,
and Riyadh have lost between 30 to 40 percent of the total of their poultry
to disease, resulting in a loss of millions [what currency?] for the farmers.
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- Sources avoided associating the mass deaths with avian
influenza, which is currently sweeping through South East Asia, especially
since winter is considered a fertile season for the emergence of a number
of farm diseases, such as Newcastle disease, which wipes out a large percentage
of poultry when it is rampant.
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- Furthermore, mass deaths in poultry are not new to the
Kingdom. In recent months similar cases were seen in some areas (western,
central, and eastern), which resulted in 40 to 60 percent losses in those
areas.
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- Sources emphasized that confirming influenza infection
requires specialized labs, which the Kingdom does not have. Therefore,
discussing the presence or spread of the disease is premature. Sources
confirmed that the poultry industry in different parts of the world is
not immune from avian influenza; besides, the disease requires suitable
environmental conditions to spread, and specific diagnostic information
is necessary to confirm its presence. Some seek to attribute the mass
deaths to avian influenza, which is very dangerous to the poultry industry
in general, since confirmation of the infection means eradication of entire
poultry farms.
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- Sources added that mass poultry deaths at some farms
in the Kingdom are not [as likely to be?] related to avian influenza as
to other diseases -- one of which is Newcastle disease, which does not
represent a threat to human health. Newcastle disease has several forms,
2 of which are gastrointestinal and neurological. [Losses] from these diseases
vary from 10 to 100 percent, depending on type, severity, and intervention
during the disease.
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- Sources also confirmed that transportation used to market
poultry is a major factor in the transmission of the disease. Minimum hygienic
requirements for the vehicles are non-existent, which promotes the transmission
of the virus between farms.
-
- Sources from the Ministry of Agriculture in Eastern Province
explain that the Ministry has not received any credible information related
to avian influenza in the last few years. In fact, reports sent to the
Ministry from the poultry farms in the Eastern Province have made no mention
of concerns regarding the flu. In addition, poultry farms in the Kingdom
do not rely on the South-East Asian market for their supply for breeding
eggs used for layers, which reduces the likelihood of direct transmission
of the disease.
-
- Sources indicate that a case of avian flu has occurred
in one of the poultry farms in the Eastern Province. This case was completely
confined to the farm, which made it easy to eliminate the virus using various
preventive methods.
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- The period of incubation for the avian flu is short.
It varies from 3-14 days. The symptoms consist of respiratory inflammation
in the chicken, which lead to asphyxia and death. The disease appears to
attack white chickens as well as old chickens (aged 1.5-2 years), probably
because the latter birds remain longer on-site.
-
- The best way to [approach] the disease is to conduct
preventive vaccination when chickens are one week old, without relying
on the use of antibiotics. In addition, it is important to clean the hatcheries
by spraying efficient disinfectants and quickly removing dead chickens
and determining the causes of their death. -- ProMED-mail
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- [As might have been expected, the recent highly pathogenic
avian influenza (HPAI) news from Eastern Asia is inspiring rumors, allegations,
and suspicions of similar disease incidents in various parts of the globe.
The above news item does not provide a clear picture of the situation in
Saudi Arabia, but the description does not necessarily fit HPAI. Among
other disease agents, Low pathogenic avian influenza (e.g. A/H9N2; see
references) and Newcastle disease are known to circulate in the Middle
East. Saudi Arabia has reported Newcastle disease in recent years; HPAI
was last reported there in 2001.
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- Colleagues in Saudi Arabia are welcome to add their observations.
- Mod.AS]
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- [see also: Avian influenza H9 virus - USA ex Saudi Arabia,
1988 (illegal) 20040105.0044] ...arn/pg/dk
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my "Emerging
Diseases" message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health
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