AVIAN FLU

[Pompey Mick]

Wht is DEFRA being so pedantic over the whole Avian Flu situation. We are the only EU country apart from Rumania that has such draconian restrictions on pigeon racing, even the Irish can race from France with no 7day Isolation rule or limit on distance as we have.

ALL British Racing Pigeon organisations must band together and employ qualified Vetrinary specialists to fight DEFRA on their own level, Economic arguements alone are not enough. Organisations like DEFRA do not make decisions on their own, they rely on scientific argument from others so they can always blame some one else if it goes wrong.

[Pompey Mick]

I've just been reading DEFRA's risk assessment for the use of Parks during an Avian Flu situation. It would seem that the mechanical transfer of this virus is a very low probability as the action of drying will help kill the virus. They are advocating that Parks and recreational areas , even wetlands, should remain open to the public because of the low risk of virus transfer.

If drying has such an effect on the virus then's DEFRA's original risk assessment of the mechanical transfer of the virus via the feet of pigeons is severely flawed as any material on a birds feet soon dries whilst in flight.

[Guest]

Brilliant post, Mick. Kinda like the left hand of DEFRA .....

 

To support what you say, birds hang a leg [or two] in flight to keep cool / cool down.

 

Air cooled, Blow-dried virus, next stop virus heaven?  

 

 

[Guest WINGS 04]

I THINK DEFRA HAVE SHOT THEM SELF IN THE FOOT WITH THIS ONE

[Guest]

I THINK DEFRA HAVE SHOT THEM SELF IN THE FOOT WITH THIS ONE

 

 

Foot in mouth disease.  ;D

[Roland]

Well DAFRA maintain that the ONLY worry regards pigeons and Avian Flu is them carrying the virus on their feet.

Also that wind / open air kills it! As they are reviewing their stance after the autumn season, isn’t it time a case was put to them! Everyone should AA. Post their MP… MEP is out of jurisdiction – and then lobby the RPRA for a PR firm. Other than that we are in the laps of … DAFRA.

[Guest]

Well appears our AI 'second season' has officially started.  :'(

 

BBC News24 are running regular bulletins about DEFRA's 'new' AI Strategy, wild bird surveillance, etc. RSPB say Widgeon from Russia are already 'here' (in a Cambridgeshire reserve).

 

Only new bit I can see is the focus is on bird reserves and wetlands that are close to big poultry farming areas... in Scotland the map shows that's the East coast from the borders thro Fife to the Tay.  

[Roland]

Briefly - a recently published study (July, 2006) from Germany showed that, yes, pigeons can be infected by the hot strain (Highly Pathogenic H5N1) of the virus killing chickens and some humans in SE Asia. Five of 14 experimental pigeons inoculated by nostril and eye died in a period of 5 to 19 days; the remaining nine birds lived and didn't have any sign of infection - but blood samples from these nine showed that they had significant levels of antibodies to this strain, indicating that they had been infected.

The only tissue that appeared to be infected by this virus was the brain; furthermore none of these infected pigeons shed or transmitted the virus to healthy chickens housed with them. However the researchers are presently studying the subject of shedding in greater depth. It's a good news (no shedding)/bad news (yes, pigeons can be infected by this strain) story.

I've just submitted an article based on this study to the RP Digest, CU yearbook/Tom Cosstick (health officer), Feather Fancier, BHW and several other international magazines, asking for some priority in publishing for the sake of providing up-to-date info for fanciers, if it's found to be an acceptable article. Gordon Chambers

[Roland]

Another interesting thought from Gordon ....

This past week on two different nights, Global news showed state and federal officials in Alaska capturing wild ducks to test for H5N1 virus - I believe they said they were going to try to get 20,000 samples.

So far I haven't seen reports of infections yet, but I'm sure they're coming. However my point in posting the update was to give fanciers info to show that this hot strain can infect pigeons but that experimental birds didn't shed virus - which is an important point to argue if pigeons are targeted as a cause of the spread of this agent.

I wish that the people who did the work I reported on had done one more experiment - expose a group of normal healthy pigeons to infected chickens to see if the kind of exposure that pigeons could have in a natural outbreak would also infect them. Often in experiments, massive doses of virus are given to experimental birds - really unnnatural exposure, far more than they might encounter in a natural exposure. So I think this would be an important part of of this study, and I contacted the author to ask if he might do that yet (since he is doing more work on the shedding angle). Gord.

[Guest]

Sometimes policy & procedures get in the way of finding out more about what you are up against, in our case Avian Flu. EU has a policy of destroying all birds that have been exposed to AI. In my opinion, in this particular case that policy worked against furthering our knowledge of how the virus spreads naturally.

 

Read this extract from the OIE Website - the report is quite dated but that is unimportant - it's the content and the missed opportunity to learn more about the virus that are the main points of posting it:-

 

 

AVIAN INFLUENZA IN SWEDEN

 

(Highly pathogenic avian influenza has never been reported before in Sweden).

 

 

Report date: 20 March 2006.

 

Reason for immediate notification: first occurrence of a listed disease or infection in a country or zone/compartment.

 

Identification of agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5.

 

Date of first confirmation of the event: 17 March 2006.

 

Date of start of the event: 24 February 2006.

 

Clinical disease: no.

 

Nature of diagnosis: laboratory.

 

Details of outbreak: 24th Feb 2006

 

(I edited the table down to text format)

 

Number of animals in outbreak:-

692 susceptible, 1 case, 0 deaths, 692 destroyed, 0 slaughtered.

 

Description of affected population:

 

In a holding (fenced area) which included game birds (500 farmed mallards [Anas platyrhynchos]), 150 pheasants, 30 pigeons, 10 backyard hens and 2 peafowls, 50 samples were taken from mallards and pheasants. HPAI virus subtype H5 was found in one mallard.

 

Diagnosis:

National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, mallard. 17th March 2006 - positive H5

 

Source of outbreak or origin of infection: contact with wild birds.

 

Control measures undertaken:

- control of wildlife reservoirs;

- stamping out;

- movement control inside the country;

- screening;

- zoning;

- disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s).

 

Treatment of affected animals: no.

 

Vaccination prohibited: yes.

 

Other details/comments:

There are no commercial poultry in the area.

The holding was placed under supervision on 24 March 2006, since it is located within the surveillance zone already implemented due to findings in wild birds.

All birds were clinically healthy at the time of sampling and there is no high mortality among wild birds noted in the area.

 

Samples were sent to OIE Reference Laboratory for avian influenza, Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), Weybridge, United Kingdom, for confirmation.

 

Final report: no.

 

Full report at:

 

http://www.oie.int/eng/info/hebdo/AIS_26.HTM#Sec3

 

 

They had 692 birds of different species penned together within an existing surveillance zone. They only sampled 50 birds, and then only pheasants and mallards. Only 1 bird was confirmed infected with H5N1, a mallard. They could have conducted a controlled experiment to see how the virus spread from bird to bird, species to species, 'in the wild' rather than in the laboratory. In other words, the 'missing' experiment Gordon Chalmers was asking for. What did they do? They slaughtered the lot.

 

[Pompey Mick]

Roland, could you give the source of the information of the German study, this is just the sort of scientific evidence we need in our efforts to get the pigeon racing risk-assessment  reassessed by DEFRA.

[Roland]

Am trying for the 'Paper's'.

But above all we need a P.R. firm. Use to be 'More buisness done at Roadside cafes and Vicar's tea parties... same now... but times pass on ... P.R. firm.

Not met many, if any that doesn't think that a P.R. firm is wanted  and a god idea... just puzzled why we don't have one... for the last 10 years for instance.

[Guest]

Roland, could you give the source of the information of the German study, this is just the sort of scientific evidence we need in our efforts to get the pigeon racing risk-assessment  reassessed by DEFRA.

 

 

Title: Neurotropism of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus A/chicken/Indonesia/2003 (H5N1) in experimentally infected pigeons (Columbia livia f. domestica)

Author(s): Klopfleisch R, Werner O, Mundt E, Harder T, Teifke JP

Source: VETERINARY PATHOLOGY 43 (4): 463-470 JUL 2006

Document Type: Article

Language: English

Cited References: 29      Times Cited: 0       

Abstract: This investigation assessed the susceptibility of experimentally infected pigeons to the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5NI that caused recent outbreaks of avian influenza in birds and humans in several countries of Asia. For this purpose 14 pigeons were infected ocularly and nasally with 10 [8]  EID50 and clinical signs were recorded and compared with five chickens infected simultaneously as positive controls. The chickens demonstrated anorexia, depression, and 100% mortality within 2 days postinoculation. Three of the pigeons died after a history of depression and severe neurological signs consisting of paresis to paralysis, mild enteric hemorrhage, resulting in a mortality of 21%. Gross lesions in these pigeons were mild and inconsistent. Occasionally subcutaneous hyperemia and hemorrhage and cerebral malacia were observed. Microscopic lesions and detection of viral antigen were confined to the central nervous system of these pigeons. In the cerebrum and to a minor extent in the brain stem a lymphohistiocytic meningoencephalitis with disseminated neuronal and glial cell necrosis, perivascular cuffing, glial nodules, and in one bird focally extensive liquefactive necrosis could be observed. The remaining nine pigeons showed neither clinical signs nor gross or histological lesions associated with avian influenza, although seroconversion against H5 indicated that they had been infected. These results confirm that pigeons are susceptible to HPAIV A/chicken/Indonesia/2003 (H5NI) and that the disease is associated with the neurotropism of this virus. Although sentinel chickens and most pigeons did not develop disease, further experiments have to elucidate whether or not Columbiformes are involved in transmission and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

 

 

The problem with this paper is that it really tells us nothing we didn't know before. David Swayne did similar work with the Thailand virus, only his came from a pigeon and a crow, rather than a chicken, and these are much more relevant .

 

I've a couple of things on the go at the moment. I have 'the other side of the coin' papers including two which show 200+ pigeons in two European Cities tested for AI and found clear (ie 437 birds specially tested);

 

I am awaiting papers by mail from Dr Kaleta whose 2004 paper which fingered racing pigeons as mechanical carriers; these include papers in German which contain tables describing the time periods AI virus has survived on feathers, species include pigeon.

[Pompey Mick]

It looks like there is another drug being developed to fight Avian Flu which will hopefully help take away the Fear Factor from Government institutions.

 

Washington - A drug being developed to fight bird flu and seasonal flu helps animals to survive H5N1 avian flu infection, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals said on Saturday.

 

The drug, called peramivir, protected mice and ferrets, which are considered the species closest to humans in terms of susceptibility to influenza.

 

The result, reported to the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco, should boost the company's efforts to win US Food and Drug Administration approval to treat infected humans with the drug.

 

The FDA accepts data on two animal species in lieu of human data in certain cases when deadly infectious agents are involved.

 

Peramivir is still in experimental trials but is considered the next-line drug to fight influenza of all sorts, after Tamiflu and Relenza.

 

Experts want to have several antivirals to choose from in fighting flu because the virus mutates quickly, and because no drug has been completely effective.

 

A team at Birmingham, Alabama-based BioCryst and at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston used a high-security lab to test whether the drug could prevent deaths from H5N1 infection in 41 mice and 20 ferrets.

[Guest]

I enjoyed Gordon Chalmers'  article Avian Influenza - New Observations in Pigeons, which was published in the British Homing World on 6th October.

 

I thought he put the study findings over very well, and it is good to see that pigeons don't spread avian influenza is now officially placed within the scientific domain. David Swayne of course told us exactly the same thing in 2005, and it is a pity that he did not publish his work, on his Thai H5N1 virus isolated from a pigeon and a crow, in the scientific domain too..

 

I see from View From The Reddings that Peter Bryant has involved Gordon in the 'mechanical carriers' scenario, which is the main reason DEFRA stopped us racing outside the UK. That I think comes directly from Kaleta and Honicke's 2004 paper, "Review of the literature on avian influenza A viruses in pigeons and experimental studies on the susceptibility of domestic pigeons to influenza A viruses of the haemagglutinin subtype H7".

 

I have been in touch with Dr Kaleta recently on it, principally because I had been unable to obtain a copy of the full paper. I have extracts which give no technical information to back up their claim that pigeons could be mechanical carriers. I had told him I was mainly interested in the work showing how the authors reached this conclusion.

 

Dr Kaleta provided me with hard copy of the 2004 paper (in English) where they say in their introduction "Since domestic pigeons are occasionally suspected to act as mechanical vectors and are incriminated to be a long-distance vehicle of influenza A viruses during free flights, additional experiments were performed." Now this has a very different meaning (to me) from the extract which states "Albeit of the status of infection, free-flying domestic pigeons can act as mechanical vectors and vehicles for long-distance transmission of any influenza A virus if plumage or feet were contaminated."

 

Having read the 2004 paper, there is no evidence given in it that pigeons have been involved in this way. Nettles 1985 paper is quoted in the papers reviewed by Kaleta and Honicke, where Nettles gave evidence that they don't carry virus contaminated material (on their feet anyway) yet DEFRA appears to have seized on the 'suspicion' that they might, in spite of at least one piece of hard scientific evidence which shows that they don't. In my email correspondance with Dr Kaleta I said that I didn't have  the background information which led him and his colleague to the 'mechanical carriers' conclusion:-

 

"Was it based on experiment, a noted occurrence in one of the papers you reviewed, or an opinion perhaps? I wondered how the racing pigeon could become contaminated in the first instance, the probability of contamination occurring, how the virus / contaminated material would survive drying-out on its aerial journey, and the probability of the virus surviving a non-stop journey of perhaps 500 - 700 miles."

 

 

Dr Kaleta didn't give me an answer to my question of virus survival outside the bird during flight, but referred me to another 2004 paper, in which experiments on the infection of birds feathers under laboratory conditions are described. He has provided me with hard copy, unfortunately it is in German " Zur tenazitat und desinfektion von aviaren influenza A viren " by Yilmaz and Kaleta. It includes a table on AI survival on pigeon's feathers, at 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48-hour intervals, which shows a drop from 6.7 to 1.2 (something) during that period.

 

The 'something' is a measure I cannot explain just yet:-

 

"titers in log10 KID (power50) at 0.1ml on the feathers".  

 

Last week I commissioned an English translation of the relevant part of this paper, and that should have started this weekend. When I have it, I'll post it up.

 

The other thing that occurs to me, and I have been in touch with both Gordon Chalmers and Peter Bryant today on this and Dr Kaleta's papers, is the possible antimicrobial role of the pigeon's down feather 'powder' and the oil from the gland which the bird spreads over its feathers. Either of these may help build a case if proof exists that the pigeon also has an in-built antimicrobial system which helps cleanse the feathers of virus. An indication that this may be the case can be drawn from Dr Kaleta's table which shows a substantial difference in drop levels between the bird species tested in his experiment, from 6.7 at 0 hours after infection, to 3.9, 2.3(pigeon) 4.4, and 6, at 6 hours after infection.

 

 

[Pompey Mick]

I have just read again the Avian Influenza report by Gordon A. Chalmers on the recent experiments wereby pigeons were INOCULATED WITH THE DISEASE,  and from the findings the have concluded that pigeons are' subsceptible' to the disease.

Subsceptible means'likely to be affected, liable or vulnerable to' and I don't think that injecting a creature with a disease many times stronger that it will face in nature proves in any way 'susceptibility'.

From the report it is found that pigeons have reacted in a completely different way to the normal course of the disease being that it only affects the brain makes me wonder whether the ever caught Avian Flu in the first place, maybe they have suffered a massive reaction against foreign viruses entering their body which has led to their death. How can they tell? As they admitted later'The normal chickens housed together with the inoculated pigeons did not HAVE TISSUE CHANGES THAT COULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH AVIAN INFLUENZA'  as far as I can read neither did the pigeons.  

The only way it can be proved that pigeons are 'susceptible' to this disease is to place them with infected chicken and let nature take it's course and see if they catch Avian Flu rather than be given it.

[PIGEON_MAN]

I WAS JUST WONDERING WEATHER OR NOT I HAD MISSED A CHANGE IN THE RESTRICTIONS THERE WERE IN PLACE WITH AVIAN FLU AT SALES AND SHOWS,AS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS I HAD BEEN TO BOTH AND IT WAS AS IF ALL RESTRICTIONS HAD BEEN LIFTED.

[Guest TAMMY_1]

JUST NOTICED THESE , I GOT A LICENSE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS TO HOLD OUR CLUB SHOW WITH ABOUT 10 FOLK IN IT

[PIGEON_MAN]

I THOUGHT THEY WERE AS WELL ROSE BUT THERE CERTAINLY WASN,T ANY RESRICTIONS IN PLACE AT THE SALE OR AT THE SHOW IT WAS JUST AS IF AVIAN FLU HAD NEVER BEEN HEARD OF,(HOW WE ALL WISH)

[Guest]

Echo previous thoughts (wish it were so too!) but there are licence conditions in place for shows and sales, but they are not as bad as last year [year 1].

 

Refer to BHW September 8th, page 6, View from the Reddings, Licence Conditions for Shows and Sales.

 

Same issue that AI vaccination was floated ... maybe diverted attention a bit?

[Pompey Mick]

I've just recently informed my local AHDO that my club will be holding a series of shows giving dates, venue, approx No of birds and Show organiser's details all under the remiit of the General Permit currently in force. They acknowledged my Email and sent me a pile of Bio-security literature to distribute at the show

When you attend a Show/Sale the only thing you should see, to comply with the permit, is Bio-security information on display. All other aspects of the permit are behind the scenes so to speak. Disinfecting & documentation being the main criteria.

[Roland]

Dear Mr Mayhew,

 

I have attached the answer given by the European Commission to my Priority Parliamentary Question of last month, which I tabled on your behalf after you contacted me.

 

I have also asked my press team in the U.K. to make this information available to local pigeon racing clubs, as well as the trade magazines and other literature. This is aimed firstly at giving people information on the Commission's position, and also to invite feedback about that position, as well as the position of the U.K. Government. If you know of anyone else who may be interested in this information, please feel free to send it on, and ask them to contact me if they think I can be of further assistance.

 

Your sincerely,

 

Chris

 

Chris Heaton Harris MEP

will add his peply below

[Roland]

WRITTEN QUESTION P-4132/06

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE)

to the Commission

 

Subject:     Pigeon racing

 

The UK government has yet to decide whether or not British pigeon fanciers will be allowed to compete in an international pigeon racing event in France. All other Member States of the European Union have been given permission by their respective governments.

 

Does the Commission believe that there is any reason, in particular relating to fears of spreading Avian Flu, for the UK´s pigeon racers not to be permitted to participate in this international event?

 

P-4132/06EN

Answer given by Mr Kyprianou

on behalf of the Commission

(19.10.2006)

 

The Commission’s view is that the situation concerning avian influenza is still difficult to anticipate. The beginning of the migratory season of wild birds increases the risk factors for a new introduction of the disease into the European Union and Member States have been urged to be extremely vigilant and to increase biosecurity and surveillance measures.

 

The Commission has recommended Member States to base their decisions for the authorisation of national and international pigeon races on the outcome of a risk assessment performed by the competent authority which shall take into account the existence of high risk areas in the respective country(ies) and the prevailing epidemiological situation as regards avian influenza in poultry and wild birds.

 

Member States have recently largely confirmed to follow the recommendation of the Commission to prohibit pigeon races in and through areas where restrictions have been set up following positive findings for highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds or due to avian influenza outbreaks in poultry.

 

According to the information provided to the Commission by the veterinary services of the United Kingdom (UK), the general licence to British pigeon racers to participate in international races which was granted based on the favourable outcome of a risk assessment dating from 24 July 2006 was revoked at the end of this year’s international racing programme.

 

The UK intends to review and update their risk assessment at the end of the wild birds’ autumn migration period. The Commission's understanding is that the current ban is therefore temporary, pending the ongoing revision of the risk assessment by the UK authorities.

[Roland]

Chris also wrote again to say....

 

Roland

No problem - I guess you must have just struck lucky writing to me about this - my Grandad was a pretty top notch pigeon fancier and won a few big races in his time - his name was Walter Ronald Cox and he even got me keeping pigeons when I was a teen!!!

 

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

 

Yours,

 

Chris.

 

Be nice if any one remembers the flyer ... guess a few will

Could well be the gent that knows other M.P.'s that may take up our cuuse when dealing with DAFRA...

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

yeah did cross my mind!! does it effect pigeons?

 

i heard that a vet in canada did some tests and 80% of pigeon breeds dont get it,only the fancy inbred breeds,

ben