Abstract Title
Biosecurity practices affecting avian influenza virus H5 and H9 virus circulation in backyard poultry farms in Bangladesh
Abstract
Backyard chicken farming is popular in Asian countries including Bangladesh. The ongoing avian influenza virus (AIV) crisis has heightened demand for more poultry surveillance in all sectors, including backyard poultry farms. In Bangladesh, we investigated how variation in biosecurity practices in backyard poultry farms affected their AIV infection status to help guide AIV mitigation strategies. We collected oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs from 320 farms and tested the samples for the AIV matrix gene followed by H5, H7, and H9 subtyping using rRT-PCR. We found that 31.25% of backyard farms were AIV positive, with 5.63% and 8.44% being positive for subtypes H5 and H9, respectively. Farms that exclusively raised chickens had a 10.00% H9 positivity rate, with no trace of H5 detected. Duck farms had a 15.00% H5 positivity, while H9 was entirely absent. Farms that raised both ducks and chickens were 15.48% and 10.71% H5 and H9 positive, respectively. Poultry type in the farm, waste disposal frequency, water providing pot, litter disposing method, rearing other animals, person responsible for the animals, and slaughtering location were identified as potential risk factors for AIV infection in backyard farms. Our findings can be applied to developing practical and cost-effective measures that significantly decrease the prevalence of AIV in backyard farms. Notably, in settings with limited resources, such as Bangladesh, these measures can help governments strengthen biosecurity practices in their poultry farms to limit and possibly prevent the spread of AIV.
Co-Author(s)
Ariful Islam1,2, Monjurul Islam3, Emama Amin3, Abdullah Al-Mamun3, Md Ziaur Rahman4, Jade K. Forwood1,2,5, Mohammad Enayet Hossain4, M Hernandez-Jover1,5, Tahmina Shirin3
1Biosecurity Research Program and Training Centre, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW-2678, Australia; 2Training Hub Promoting Regional Industry and Innovation in Virology and Epidemiology, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW-2678, Australia; 3Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, Bangladesh; 4One Health Laboratory, International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Bangladesh; 5School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Abstract Category
Biosecurity, mitigation, control, and post-epidemic considerations in poultry