Abstract Title
Assessing the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) spread associated with the permitted movement of duck hatching eggs out of or within control areas in the United States
Abstract
In the United States (U.S.), permitted continuity of business (COB) movements are key to safely moving at-risk but uninfected poultry and poultry products out of or within highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control areas (CAs) (i.e., 10km areas established around infected premises). Presently, most state animal health agencies use the Secure Poultry Supply (SPS) to guide permitted product movements which provides heightened biosecurity practices and surveillance derived from science-based risk assessments. There is currently SPS guidance available for egg laying, broiler, turkey, and upland game bird live bird and product movements, and, in 2023, efforts to conduct risk assessments focused on movements of duck-specific products began. Using a framework adapted from the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Import Risk Analysis methods, the risk of duck hatching eggs moving out of or within an HPAI CA spreading virus to other poultry premises was evaluated. Disease pathways including the likelihood of duck eggs becoming contaminated before movement and the likelihood of day-old ducklings at a hatchery becoming infected were systematically evaluated using input from a public-private duck sector workgroup and information from peer-reviewed literature related to host-virus-environment interactions. Additionally, within-barn HPAI transmission and active surveillance simulation models were built to evaluate surveillance protocols for monitored duck breeder flocks. Models were parameterized using mortality data from U.S. duck companies and scientific literature describing the pathogenicity of H5 clade 2.3.4.4 HPAI viruses in ducks. Here, we discuss risk assessment results as well as challenges in developing HPAI transmission simulation models for ducks.
Co-Author(s)
Kaitlyn St. Charles
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Sylvia Wanzala-Martin
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Peter Bonney
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Amos Ssematimba
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, P.O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda
Rosemary Marusak
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Mickey Leonard
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Marie Culhane
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Carol Cardona
Secure Food Systems Team, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
Abstract Category
Biosecurity, mitigation, control, and post-epidemic considerations in poultry