PROTOCOLS FOR ACTION PLAN IN CASE OUTBREAK OF BIRD FLU (HPAI) IS CONFIRMED IN INDIA

This Action Plan for the State Governments consists

of three parts. Part I gives the Action Plan in case of any suspicion of occurrence of avian flu at any place. Part II describes the Action Plan in the unlikely event of the outbreak of the disease being confirmed by laboratory tests. Part III provides advice to persons who may be required to handle HPAI affected poultry. It is clarified that poultry covers not only chickens, but other domesticated birds like ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowls, quails etc.

PART II -Action Plan in case of the outbreak of the disease being confirmed by laboratory tests.

Declaration of infected and surveillance areas ———-

2.1. In case laboratory tests confirm the occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the matter should be reported at once to the Director of Animal Husbandry and Secretary/Prinicpal Secretary in charge of Animal Husbandry. An area of radius 3 kms around the infected site which should have been clearly identified with names of all villages and habitations within that area should be communicated with this to the above authorities so that the area can be notified as infected area. A sign -board about declaration of the area

with 3 km radius from the infected site as infected with bird flu or Avian Influenza should be clearly and prominently displayed in the local language. The area between the radius of 3 kms and 10 kms around the infected site should be notified as surveillance area. The surveillance should act as a buffer zone between infected area and disease -free area. In case vaccination is to be adopted, surveillance area will have to be targeted.

Reporting to be done by Secretary/Principal Secretary ————

2.2. The Secretary/Principal Secretary will obviously have to bring the matter to the notice of the highest authorities of the State Government for their guidance and appropriate intervention. The Secretary/Principal Secretary should also at once report the matter to the Animal Husbandry Commissioner and Joint Secretary in charge of Animal Health in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Government of India. All the concerned agencies including local and other central authorities are to be notified about the infected area. It is, however, clarified that the international agencies are to be notified by only the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Government of India.

Designated Veterinary Officer and CVO/DAHO responsible for implementation of all contigency procedures ————

2.3. Once the occurrence of HPAI is confirmed through the labortory tests, all contingency procedures for the containment and eradication of HPAI should be implemented at once. Many immediate steps will have to be taken as indicated in the succeeding paragraphs in addition to continuing and intensifying all the restrictions mentioned in para1.12.

The responsibility for this purpose shall vest with the Veterinary Officer designated for this purpose by the CVO/DAHO and of course, the CVO/DAHO as the supervisor officer. (In case the infected area happens to be a sanctuary of birds, the steps should be taken in consultation with the official in charge of the sanctuary. There will, however, be no need to provide any compensation as mentioned in paras 2.21 and 2.22 in respect of the birds in the sanctuary to be destroyed).

Absolute ban on movement of poultry or its products ———–

2.4. Movement of poultry or its products should be completely banned from and to the infected area. Farm personnel in the infected area should not be allowed to visit any other poultry farm. All possible steps should be taken to ensure that wild and stray birds do not have access to sheds and water supplies in the infected area.

Closure of poultry and egg markets and shops ————-

2.5. All poultry and egg markets/shops within the radius of 10 kms from the infected site should be immediately got closed forthwith with the assistance of the Revenue and Muncipal/Panchayat authorities.

Movement of vehicles and persons ————–

2.6. The vehicles of the veterinarians and others visiting the infected premises must be left outside the premises at a distance of at least 500 metres from the entrance of the farm. The movement of people and equipment from the suspected premises should be restricted only to the requirements related to handling the disease. Proper disinfection procedures must be adopted even for this.

Access to the infected premises ————-

2.7. Access to the premises must take place following a complete change in clothing. Disposable gear, including head caps and shoe covers must be worn by all staff entering the farm. A changing room must be identified, and it should contain large plastic bags, cardboard boxes, latex gloves and a sufficient quantity of disinfecting solution. The remaining components of kit are to be used inside the poultry

house/shed. The immediate tasks to be carried out by the designated Veterinary Officer will be to :

(i) Categorically instruct the personnel in the farm that they

should not visit any other establishment containing live birds for three days after they leave the infected farm; the VO and any other veterinarian must also comply to this general rule.

(ii) Identify locations on the farm where vehicles leaving the farm can be properly washed and disinfected.

(iii) Activate the disinfection procedures at the point of

entrance to/exit from the infected premises; identify sites where staff may wash and disinfect; and ensure that on leaving the premises, all staff leave their disposable gear inside the changing room, wash and disinfect exposed body parts and shoes and agree to wash their clothing as soon as they return home.

(iv) Vehicles are washed and disinfected internally and externally, and vehicles should be allowed to leave the infected premises only if it is absolutely necessary.

(v) Care must be taken to avoid contamination of water

reservoirs.

2.8. The number of vehicles and staff in the infected premises should be reduced to the minimum necessary to handle the outbreak. Any staff that has access to the infected premises may only leave the farm after a complete change in clothing and disinfection. Staff involved in the depopulation of the farm must not have any contacts with susceptible species, for at least three days after the last contact with the infected

premises.

premises ————-

2.9. The entire stock of diseased and in-contact birds needs to be eliminated and destroyed in the presence of the designated VeterinaryOfficer and concerned local authorities like officials of the Revenue Department, Municipality, Panchayat etc. All the poultry products

including meat, eggs and waste materials, like used litter and manure, must not be allowed to move out of the infected premises and should be destroyed at once including any material left over from the period before the disease was reported. The means of destroying the stock should be humane. The dead birds, along with both diseased and culled

ones, should be burnt in pyre or buried and a certificate to be obtained from the local authority. It has to be ensured that the dead birds, eggs and other materials are not moved out of the infected site under any circumstances. The Government may designate any other appropriate authority for overseeing the culling and disposal of dead birds from the point of view of determining the compensation to be paid to the affected poultry farmers.

2.10. The depopulation and disposal of infected birds must be performed bearing in mind that this needs to be done in the quickest time span possible to prevent spread of infection. Furthermore, they need to be performed with the doors of the shed/house closed to prevent access of wild birds and other animals to infected organic material. Depopulation of infected flocks may be done by decapitation and dislocation of the neck.

2.11. The equipment necessary for depopulation and disposal are :

Wooden poles and plastic red-and white-tape to identify the infected premises and the entrance/exit of the farm;

Disinfectants; ————–

Gas, drugs or devices to contain, sedate, stun and depopulate flocks;

Appropriate containers for disposing of infected material.

2.12. Drugs that may be used for depopulation of large flocks of birds are:

Alfa chloralose, mixed to feed in concentration of 2%-6%, causes loss of consciousness, and death can be obtained by suffocating birds in plastic bags. Can be used only if the birds are clinically ill and do not exhibit any loss of appetite;

Sodium fenobarbital, dissolved in drinking water (80 mg

in 55 ml), causes loss of consciousness in 4 hours; same recommendations as above.

2.13. Approximately 5 quintals of wood per 100 kg of dead birds would be required for burning. It should be ensured that carcasses are completely burnt. In areas where it is not at all practicable to dispose of the birds by burning, burial may be adopted. For this, a pit must be prepared as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed. The size of the pit must be at least two metres long, two metres wide and two metres deep, and

this enables disposal of about 300 birds. The number of birds can be doubled, if it is made one metre deeper. All non-disinfectable, biodegradable material (wood, cardboard) must be buried with the animals. The carcasses must be covered with a layer of calcium hydroxide, and then with a layer of earth (at least 40 cm deep). Burial should be such that rodents or stray animals cannot access it. The burial ground is to be suitably marked and should not be opened for at least five years.

Procedure for destruction of infected materials ————-

2.14. For destruction of the infected materials, the following procedures should be adopted :

(i) Waste, organic and all other non-disinfectable material

present on the farm must be destroyed; in particular, destruction of litter, eggs, egg products, hay, animal feedstuffs, feathers and egg-trays must be ensured. (Depending on he quantity to be destroyed and characteristics of the farm, litter can be either buried in the pit with animal carcasses or burned. Water should not be allowed to accumulate in the farm premises or where litter has been buried. In any case, infected litter should not be moved from the infected farm.)

(ii) Eggs and egg products may be buried in the pit with the

animal carcasses or burnt.

(iii) Straw may be more conveniently burnt.

(iv) Animal feed present on site must be burnt.

(v) The protective clothing used by the staff engaged in

destruction of the birds should also be burnt.

Cleaning and disinfection of the premises and farm implements ———–

2.15. The following procedure may be adopted for cleaning and disinfection of the premises and farm implements :

(i) All units which are physically or functionally connected to the establishment (i.e. hatchery, egg storage rooms, packaging rooms, egg trolleys, egg product plants) must be properly disinfected. Vehicles, used for transporting live animals, eggs and anmal feed must also be disinfected.

(ii) Washing and disinfection of walls, floors and ceilings of the infected establishments must be performed aiming at the removal of all organic material; metal structures such as cages may be decontaminated by heat treatment.

(iii) All equipment inside the house such as drinkers and food

hoppers must be washed and treated with a disinfectant for at

least 48 hours.

(iv) Water reservoirs must also be emptied, washed and

disinfected.

(v) Feed tanks (silos) need to be emptied, washed with a hot

water-pressure pump and subsequently fumigated.

(vi) After washing and disinfecting, all units must be

fumigated twice with at least two weeks between fumigations.

2.16. A list of disinfectants which are active against avian influenza virus, their concentration and recommended use are mentioned below :

(i) Rectified spirit or Savlon or Dettol (1 % solution) can be

used for cleaning of hands, feet of farm workers and visiting

officials.

(ii) 2% solution of NaOH should be used at the entrance on foot mats to clean the shoes. This solution can also be used to scrub and clean gumboots and other items.

(iii) Sodium hypochlorite : 2% active chlorine solution

(disinfection of equipment)

(iv) Quaternary ammonium salts: 4% solution (treatment of

walls, floors, ceilings and equipment).

(v) Calcium Hydroxide: 3% solution ( treatment of walls and

floors).

(vi) Cresolic acid 2.2% solution: (treatment of floors).

(vii) Synthetic phenols 2% solution: (treatment of floors).

(viii) Vircon-S@ where available.

(ix) Formalin and permanganate for fumigation.

Notification to health authorities ————-

2.17. In view of the threat of human infection from particular strains of HPAI (H5N1), public health authorities are to be immediately notified to be vigila nt against infection appearing in man. This should be done at the level of CVO/DAHO and the Director/Secretary, Animal Husbandry.

The farm personnel handling birds or products should be subjected to special scrutiny. If human infection is suspected, the personnel involved in eradication or control should be adequately protected against exposure. Wearing of protective clothing and other protective equipment should be made compulsory.

Imposition of legislative measures ————–

2.18. All the existing legislative powers associated with notification of a disease either vested with the municipality or with CVO/DAHO should be exercised. This is to be ensured by both the CVO/DAHO and the Director of Animal Husbandry.

Exchange of information with industry/farmers –————-

2.19. Following notification of the disease, the Government at the level of the Director, Animal Husbandry and Secretary, Animal Husbandry should take the poultry industry and small poultry farm owners into confidence and inform them periodically about the measures that are being taken to control HPAI. Popular poultry and livestock journals and mass media should be encouraged to disseminate information about the Government’s initiative on HPAI. The support of the industry should be sought for implementing the Government’s decisions.

Media briefing by official spokesperson —————–

2.20. In order to avoid spreading panic both in terms of public health and distress selling by poultry farmers, clear and precise briefing of the media should be made regularly by a designated official spokesperson of the state Government. The notification, instructions to be followed and information in terms of human consumption of poultry products should be announced through media. Unauthorized persons should be discouraged from voicing op inion in the media, which is best left to the experts identified by State Govt. for HPAI.

Compensation to be paid for forced culling ————-

2.21. It is obvious that the programme of culling of all affected birds will succeed only if a system of adequately compe nsating the poultry farmers is put in place and activated immediately after the outbreak of HPAI is confirmed. It is unrealistic to expect the poultry farmers to cooperate with the culling programme unless they can hope to get fair

compensation immediatey. It must be realised that any expenditure incurred on this will be more than justified by way of bringing about effective control on the disease. The State Government will have to take an immediate decision on this. In order to ensure that compensation is paid expeditiously and that chances of its misuse are minimised, it will be advisable to associate the District Collectors with this. In order to

have effective control on the expenditure incurred on payment of compensation, it will be necessary to collect data on the poultry population within a radius of 3 kms from the suspected site before receipt of test results, as mentioned in para 1.14. The question of grant of assistance, if any, to the States for this purpose will have to be decided separately.

Destruction of birds in the infected zone of 3 km radius outside the initially infected farm ————-

2.22. For effective control of the diseases it will be necessary to stamp out all the birds within the infected zone even though the birds outside the initially infected farm may not be currently showing any symptoms of the disease. All such birds should also be destroyed. Compensation may be paid for such birds also.

Bio-security –————–

2.23. The best way to control HPAI is to prevent exposure by imposing strict biosecurity measures. This can be achieved by adopting following means in all farms, even though they are not currently infected.

(i) Contact of poultry flock with domestic poultry and wild

birds should be avoided. The premises of poultry farming should not have water bodies to attract free-living, migratory and other wild birds.

(ii) In poultry farm, uniform age-group policy should be

adopted. This is best done by adopting ‘all-in-all-out’ production system.

(iii) In order to control human traffic, the farm personnel

should wear protective clothing all the time inside the farm,

including face-masks and gloves, gumboots etc. Inter-sectional movements of farm personnel should be banned. While leaving the farm premises, farm personnel should clean themselves thoroughly with disinfectants and change their clothing and shoes. They should not visit any other poultry farm, bird sanctuary etc. for at least three days.

(iv) The entire farm premises including appliances, feeders,

waterers, cages, etc., need to be thoroughly cleaned and

disinfected at fortnightly intervals. Farm implements from other

poultry farms should not be borrowed for use. If at all necessary, thorough disinfection before using and soon after the use should be carried out.

Vaccination —————-

2.24. Vaccinated birds may get protected against the disease but continue to spread the infection. OlE recommends that in case of an outbreak of HPAI in a densely populated poultry area, vaccination can be one of the options to be adopted as a control policy. Since there are various subtypes of influenza viruses, it is difficult to predict involvement of a particular sub-type and keep stocks ready. However, mass-vaccination with the most commonly used strain in an inactivated vaccine in the entire surveilla nce zone as ring vaccination could be adopted. If it is desired that ring vaccination be carried out in the intensive surveillance zone (ie, 3 to 10 kms radius of infected site), the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF), Government of India may be contacted stating reasons for vaccination, no. of domestic avian species at risk, no. of doses required etc. If convinced, DADF may arrange to procure and dispatch appropriate vaccine to the concerned district authorities. Prior to receiving the vaccine, the district authorities should make all necessary arrangements

for carrying out emergency vaccination including mobilisation of teams etc.

2.25. After a cooling off period of about three weeks, the poultry or products from the surveilla nce zone, which had undergone vaccination can be allowed to be traded outside the zone. It may be noted that vaccination is to be undertaken only during hours of crisis and not as a routine prophylaxis. It is emphasised that vaccination alone will not be sufficient to bring the outbreaks in poultry under control. It must beused in conjunction with comprehensive strategy, i.e., culling of affected birds, strict bio-security, quarantine and other measures to prevent further spread of the disease. If no vaccination is adopted, trading could be resumed four weeks after all birds within 3 kms are culled, provided no fresh case appeared in the surveillance zone between 3 to 10 kms.

Surveillance and freedom from disease ———————

2.26. This is the most difficult part of a control programme, as it will have the direct impact on the poultry industry. Once the disease has been encountered in a geographical region, it will bring along with it associated trade restrictions. In order to resume normal trade practices, it is essential that freedom from the disease be achieved at the earliest.

Intensive surveillance needs to be carried out in the surveillance zone. During the course of the outbreak, surveillance should determine extent of infection determined by clinical signs and virus isolation. After the

outbreak is contained, the extent of infection needs to be determined by sero-surveillance. In the event of vaccination policy adopted to prevent spread of the disease, the extent of spread of infection needs to be ascertained by differential surveillance between infection and vaccination antibodies. To establish freedom from infection, repopulated flock in the infected area needs to be screened periodically. Random

clinical, virological and serological investigations on the repopulatedflock for a two months’ period is recommended. Such sampling should be done at least once every fortnight to the extent of about 0.5% of the population introduced.

Public awareness ————————-

2.27. Awareness in the general public about the disease and its consequences should be made through printed and mass media campaigns based on scientific facts and figures. It must be emphasized that proper cooking at more than 70o temperature for 30 minutes eliminates the virus and it is absolutely safe to consume properly cooked poultry meat and eggs. It is, of course, necessary to encourage hygienic way of slaughtering, dressing and packing of chiken meat. It is

important that details of negative results reported by the laboratory in respect of the surveillance samples are periodically furnished to the media. The journalists should also be invited to awareness campaigns to report the things in the right perspective. The poultry farmers associations, cooperatives, NECC, APEDA, etc. should be actively

involved in this process. The minimum expenditure required for awareness campaigns can be met from the funds provided under the sponsored scheme of “ASCAD” for the time being.

Reference-on request