Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine: No Tembusu-like virus detected in Taiwan, China; calls on industry operators to report immediately if found
Text / Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Council of Agriculture
The specimens sent from duck farms for testing in this outbreak were simultaneously tested for duck egg drop syndrome virus (referred to outside as Tembusu virus); all have been negative to date, with no cases detected.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (abbreviated as the BAPHIQ) of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, pointed out on the 3rd of this month that in recent years the emerging animal infectious disease causing a sharp drop in egg production among laying ducks in mainland China is caused by infection with duck egg drop syndrome virus (DEDSV). The virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae and is highly similar to Tembusu virus, and is called Tembusu related virus.
The virus can cause a sharp drop in egg production in ducks (dropping to 10 percent or complete cessation of laying within 5-10 days), death (mortality of about 5-10 percent depending on the quality of rearing management and environment), sudden refusal of feed, green diarrhea, paralysis and other neurological symptoms, causing rapid losses to the duck farming industry.
Because the aforementioned clinical conditions are the same as those of avian influenza, from the very start of this outbreak the Animal Health Research Institute (abbreviated as AHRI) of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, simultaneously tested the duck specimens submitted for DEDSV, and to date no positive cases have been detected. Testing was also carried out for other diseases with more similar symptoms, such as parvovirus and circovirus, and the results confirmed that this wave of the outbreak was caused by avian influenza. To be prudent, the institute will continue to carry out differential diagnosis on submitted cases, so as to facilitate early detection of other mixed infection problems and provide a reference for disease control measures.
During the period when the avian influenza outbreak is severe, farmers are urged to report to the local animal disease control authorities as soon as possible when suspected symptoms are found, so that the cause can be clarified and handled promptly.
The BAPHIQ explained that when the Republic of China Duck Association reported abnormal egg production declines in laying ducks at the national avian influenza review meeting on December 30, 103 (2014), the animal disease control authorities of all counties and cities were immediately asked to conduct comprehensive visits and guidance. Since DEDSV cannot be confirmed by visual identification, the Duck Association and industry guidance departments were also asked to guide farmers through industry information channels to submit samples for confirmation as soon as possible.
Because the disease is mainly transmitted through contact, the bureau urged duck farmers, if suspected symptoms appear, not to move the poultry on the farm and to immediately notify the local animal disease control authorities for assistance in clarifying the cause. Farmers are also asked to avoid visiting epidemic-area countries and contacting poultry, and after returning home they must thoroughly clean and disinfect, and only carry out related operations after 1 week, to prevent the introduction and occurrence of the epidemic.
The BAPHIQ stated that local animal disease control authorities will also complete as soon as possible the sampling and monitoring of duck farms within a 1-kilometer radius of premises with new avian influenza cases, in order to confirm whether ducks carry the virus and act as transmission vectors, and to handle the matter promptly.