The bird flu is more serious this year than in previous years: almost six million animals have already been culled. It doesn’t look like it will get any better this year. But innovations offer hope to the poultry sector.
There are still question marks about bird flu, Armin Elbers told NU.nl. He is an epidemiologist at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) in Lelystad.
“For example, we still don’t know exactly how the virus enters the stables. The possible contact between infected wild birds and poultry is already prevented by the confinement obligation.”
According to him, this makes it difficult to take further measures that have an effect in the short term. But there are hopeful innovations that could potentially keep the virus at bay.
For example, Utrecht University and Royal GD, a company specializing in animal health, discovered that windbreak mesh can reduce the risk of contamination through the air. Research by Elbers at WBVR also shows that visits from wild birds can be prevented with an automated laser.
Poultry farms already have strict hygiene protocols in place to prevent contamination, such as protective clothing and showering. Francisca Velkers, epidemiologist and poultry doctor at Utrecht University, emphasizes the importance of everyone following.
Birds are attracted to water, food and vegetation. “An important other measure is therefore to make the immediate vicinity of the barn so unattractive for birds,” says Velkers.
Hope for a well-functioning vaccine
Unfortunately, these measures offer no guarantees. Poultry farmers therefore mainly hope for a well-functioning vaccine. WBVR is now testing three in the lab, with the first results expected at the end of December.
But is it feasible to give all those millions of animals a shot? “You don’t have to vaccinate them one by one like people do,” explains Elbers.
“For example, vaccination can take place in eggs. That process is fully automated and it is already being used in other vaccinations.”
“It is certainly feasible to vaccinate millions of animals. This can be done via the eggs, an automated process.”
Armin Elbers, epidemiologist
Vaccination with nebulisation is also already underway. “A kind of plant syringe filled with the vaccine is walked through the barn, after which the chickens inhale the vaccine.”
If the vaccines prove effective, there will be another hurdle. It has been agreed within the EU that no trading is allowed in eggs and meat from chickens that have been vaccinated against bird flu. Those rules need to be relaxed first.
“That is prohibited, because it was not easy to determine whether an animal was carrying the virus through vaccination, or whether the animal was actually sick. Now you can make vaccines with a genetic building block that differs slightly from the virus that occurs in the field. . With testing you can tell the difference.”
Massive deaths among wild birds too
In the longer term, there seems to be hope for poultry farms. But the bird flu does not only affect the poultry sector: there is also massive death among wild birds.
It is unavoidable that infected birds come to the Netherlands. However, the virus can be monitored better, says Albert de Jong of Sovon Bird Research Netherlands. “The damage among poultry is well monitored, that among wild birds much less.”
Now, monitoring largely relies on a public reporting system where people can report dead birds. If three or more dead waterfowl are found together, then the situation is suspicious. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) then has WBVR find out whether the dead birds are infected.
According to De Jong, these reports are important, but they are insufficient. “We have to count and test structurally. Then you know more quickly whether mortality is increasing, which species are hit hardest and whether we are dealing with a new variant. And therefore also how alert you have to be.”
This is an exciting period in an already exciting time, he says. “With the start of a new bird flu season, many migratory birds are coming from the north. They can bring a new variant.”
Nature organizations want help with clearing cadavers
Nature organizations such as Natuurmonumenten, Vogelbescherming Nederland and Dierenbescherming still see a short-term solution to limit the outbreak. They want more help from the government for cleaning up dead birds in the wild. According to those parties, this is an effective way to prevent further spread
“In affected poultry farms, however sad for affected poultry farmers and animals, we see a well-oiled machine of men in white suits and protective measures,” they wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives last week. “Conservationists and conservationists should see for themselves how to tackle this problem in wild birds.”
In the first months of next year, Minister Piet Adema (Agriculture) will present a plan to combat bird flu. It is striking that in a letter to parliament about bird flu he does not mention an advice to slim down the poultry sector, Trouw reports. According to researchers, too many animals live in clumps, which increases the risk of infection and the risk of mutations.
Nature organizations want more help from the government for cleaning up dead birds.
Nature organizations want more help from the government for cleaning up dead birds.
Photo: Natural Monuments
No mass distribution between companies
Epidemiologist Elbers says that opinions are divided on this. “We mainly see individual infections and not a massive spread between companies, as we still see in other countries. In the Netherlands, the number of poultry farms has decreased in recent years and the existing farms have grown with more professional management.”
“Infections in poultry in the Netherlands are quickly detected and then eliminated. As a result, the chance of mutations occurring here is extremely small.”
He is concerned about poultry farms in Southeast Asia, where poultry and wild animals do come into contact with each other. “If one really wanted to do something structurally about the ongoing bird flu crisis, then one would have to restructure the poultry sector there and ban living markets.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not realistic,” he admits. “It will take decades to achieve such structural changes.”