Position statement on avian influenza
Issued by the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee on behalf of Natural England, Countryside
Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Council for
Nature Conservation and the Countryside.
Updated 11 January 2008
Current levels of risk
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 has been
reported on 10 January 2008 from a Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
found at Abbotsbury Swannery, The Fleet, Dorset.
JNCC has been consulted by government, as a member of Defra’s
Ornithological Experts Panel (OEP), on the possible role of wild
birds in bringing HPAI H5N1 to the UK and its further spread within
the UK. Member organisations of the OEP are helping Defra to
review local conditions, including the presence of other birds at
The Fleet and nearby, through direct observations and from existing
survey information. Surveillance for avian diseases in wild
birds continues through sampling of both dead and live birds under
schemes coordinated by Defra.
We are currently assessing the risk of wild birds
spreading HPAI H5N1 within and beyond the the Wild Bird
Surveillance Area in Dorset.
The probability of infected wild birds arriving in, or moving
around, the UK will depend on the proportion of wild birds that
have come into contact with the infection, the transmission rate of
the virus, the incubation period for HPAI H5N1, the mortality rate
of infected birds and the likelihood that an infected individual
could undertake movement from an outbreak area. These factors
are currently largely unknown.
Prevention measures
Ongoing work
The UK statutory agencies are
committed to assisting UK government, the devolved administrations,
and others in their surveillance of the current situation,
acknowledging the particular circumstances in the island of
Ireland. To this end we will:
- Contribute our expertise and participate in the
Ornithological Experts Panel (OEP) established by Defra, and
involving the devolved administrations, to assess the possible role
of wild birds in the spread of HPAI H5N1.
- Contribute to surveillance for avian influenza in
wild birds.
- Contribute to the expert group convened by the Office of
Science & Technology.
- Contribute to contingency planning being undertaken by DEFRA
and the devolved administrations , through the development of
contingency plans in each of the country agencies and JNCC.
- Support DEFRA and the devolved administrations in liaising with
other EU Member States and the international community on avian
influenza issues.
- Continue to support the BTO/WWT/RSPB/JNCC Wetland Bird Survey
and BTO National Ringing Scheme as fundamental sources of
information that aid the assessment of current risk.
- Work with others to update and disseminate clear health and
safety guidance for individuals whose activities may bring them
into contact with potentially infected birds, such as bird ringers
and hunters.
- Clarification of the nature of migratory routes and timings for
key migratory species; and further development of existing
ecological monitoring of these populations.
- Clarification of the virus behaviour in different waterbird
populations, especially viral incubation periods, the infectious
period in birds, symptoms in wild birds, as well as survival
rates.
Risk assessment depends on
understanding the spread of the disease internationally, as well as
those measures put in place to co-ordinate surveillance of
influenza in both wild and domestic birds. We will
accordingly work with Wetlands International, especially through
its ad hoc coordination unit, and other international
organisations to develop international understanding so as to
provide this wider context to the UK government and devolved
administrations, the European Union and other relevant bodies,
specifically:
- Contributing to the work of the Avian Influenza Scientific Task
Force established by the Convention on Migratory Species which
seeks to facilitate co-ordination of activity related to the spread
of HPAI at international scales.
We will keep our position under
review and provide updated statements as the situation
requires.
Background
Avian influenza is widespread in populations of wild birds,
but typically has low lethality (so-called Low Pathogenic Avian
Influenza - LPAI).
There is current concern over a highly
virulent form of this virus (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza -
HPAI - of the form H5N1) which originated in Asia, is now
considered endemic in that region, and has subsequently spread
rapidly west into many other countries. The means of this
spread are not fully understood but may involve legal
[1] and
illegal movements of poultry and other captive live birds as well
as dispersal by migratory wild birds. This concern arises, not only
from the impacts of this infection on stocks of domestic poultry,
but especially from the risk of human infection with HPAI as well
as the theoretical potential that HPAI may mutate to a form that
could spread between humans resulting in a global influenza
pandemic. The impact of HPAI on wild bird populations is also of
concern.
There is continuing concern that
migrating wild birds may further spread HPAI from infected areas to
new areas along migration routes. Long-term investment in
programmes that monitor the numbers and distribution of the UK's
waterbird populations, as well as information on bird movements
gained from the National Ringing Scheme (organised by the British
Trust for Ornithology), aid in evaluating this risk.
Further information
Further information on the current situation can be found on
the following web-sites:
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs:
-
- Wetlands International:
-
http://www.wetlands.org/articlemenu.aspx?id=fa641fcb-eff6-4975-921a-b66c734cd573
- Office International des Epizooties:
- http://www.oie.int/
- World Health Organisation:
- http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/index.html
- Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United
Nations:
-
FAO's Animal Production and Health Division - AGA
- European Commission:
-
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/index_en.htm
- European Food Safety Authority:
- http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/en.html
(search for AI)
- Convention on Migratory Species:
- AI Task Force (http://www.aiweb.info/)
November 2005 - Resolution 8.27 (Migratory
species and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza)
April 2006 - conclusions
of the scientific seminar on Avian Influenza, Nairobi.
- BirdLife International:
-
www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/avian_flu/index.html
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
- US Geological Service's National Wildlife Health
Center:
-
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/avian_influenza/index.jsp
- Ramsar Convention on wetlands
- November 2005 - Resolution IX.23 (Highly pathogenic avian
influenza and its consequences for wetland and waterbird
conservation and wise use)
- African-Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement
- October 2005 - Resolution 3.18. (Avian
Influenza)
Statutory conservation agency and Northern Ireland avian
influenza contact points
Primary Contacts
|
David Stroud
Helen Baker
Andy Douse
|
Natural England
|
Ian Carter
|
Countryside Council for Wales
|
Sian Whitehead
|
Scottish Natural Heritage
|
Andy Douse
|
Environment and Heritage Service
|
Gregor Watson
|
1.The occurrence of HPAI in UK quarantine
demonstrates this potential route.