There is another pandemic, in addition to that of Covid, which is scourging Italy and Europe. Its victims are broilers, turkeys and laying hens. In our country alone, 14 million animals have been slaughtered between mid-October and today. The outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), caused by H5 subtypes of the influenza A virus, are over three hundred, currently distributed in five regions: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Lombardy and especially Veneto, where the situation is so serious as to make farmers invoke a state of calamity.
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According to Coldiretti, the estimated damage would amount to half a billion euros in Veneto alone. In what has been defined by the Friedrich Loeffler Institut, that is the German Institute for Research on Animal Health, “the most serious avian flu epidemic to have hit Europe”, mostly industrial farms are involved – in Italy the vast majority of infections concern turkeys from the provinces of Verona, Vicenza and Padua – but also game and other birds. The EU biosecurity protocols provide for the implementation of strict control measures for outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
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“Avian influenza is a disease subject to the obligation to report and involves the killing of all animals, the sanitary vacuum with cleaning and disinfection and the establishment of protection and surveillance areas around the affected companies” Maurizio Ferri, senior veterinarian at the ASL of breaking latest news as well as national scientific coordinator of the Italian Society of Preventive Veterinary Medicine ..
The risks for humans
First identified in Italy more than a century ago, avian influenza can be low or highly pathogenic. Widespread throughout the world, it is able to infect almost all species of birds, albeit with very different manifestations, from the lightest to the highly pathogenic and contagious forms that generate epidemics. In the case of the latter, the disease arises suddenly, followed by rapid death in almost all cases. “Wild birds, and in particular waterfowl, host the largest variety of influenza viruses that find the ideal reservoir for any mutations. Usually these birds do not get sick but can carry the virus through their long migrations, eliminating it with their feces. and infect domestic birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and other poultry “continues Ferri.
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So should we worry? No, the expert reassures us, as the risks to our health are fortunately limited. “The current avian flu is very contagious to animals but not to humans. In fact, although they belong to the same family and type, avian flu viruses are not able to spread efficiently to our species. They can do so sporadically and in some cases. certain conditions, as happened in the past, in environmental contexts characterized by high animal-human promiscuity and exposure through direct contact with dead or sick birds, or with contaminated surfaces and materials “continues Ferri.
The British case
Promiscuity seems to be the cause of the first infection of a person reported in recent days by the United Kingdom Health Safety Agency. The subject became infected after having close and regular contact with a large number of sick birds, which he kept in and around his home for an extended period of time. All contacts of the individual, including those who visited his home, have been traced and there is no evidence of subsequent transmission to other people. The infected person is fine at the moment and has voluntarily placed himself in self-isolation. However, the happy ending to the British affair must not let us let our guard down.
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“The avian influenza viruses characterized so far have a low risk of human transmission. However, given the high propensity of these viruses to undergo genetic reassortment events, the possibility that mutations will emerge that increase their infectious potential for the man “explains the veterinarian, recalling that” In Europe we have a very efficient early warning and response system that provides for the notification of any human influenza virus infection within 24 hours “. As for food consumption, the Ministry of Health emphasizes how meat and eggs can be eaten safely, after careful cooking, as the heat inactivates the virus. For the same reason, the consumption of raw or not fully cooked meat and eggs is not recommended. “In any case, there is currently no contamination of the food chain. If anything, the problem is represented by the disposal of the carcasses of dead animals that have been infected and of those that will have to be killed” reiterates Ferri.
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African swine fever
Since misfortunes never come alone, three cases of African swine fever (Psa) in our country have made headlines in recent weeks. The virus that causes it is lethal to wild pigs and wild boars and the infection still remains untreated. “African swine fever is harmless to humans but causes devastating effects on pig farming. From 2016 until June 2020, Europe has lost 1.3 million pigs to it,” summarizes the veterinarian. The disease, almost completely eradicated in the late 1990s, has reappeared today, in a new guise (genotype II) in Piedmont and Liguria, from which it arrived via the Balkans after having scourged Germany last year. “To date, the problem is limited to wild boars, but the fear is that it could reach domestic pig farms. Therefore, the measures that are being adopted, such as the biosecurity standards, go in the direction of preserving the farms from the arrival of the plague” clarifies Ferri.
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The infection occurs through sick animals that expel the virus with saliva, urine and feces for many days as well as the possible contamination of food. “The ASF virus is very stable and therefore remains infectious for several weeks even in carcasses abandoned on the territory. It is inactivated only by cooking and by specific disinfectants. Due to the resistance of the virus – a few weeks in refrigerated meat and many months in that frozen – it can also be found in hams and sausages after short periods of curing and in kitchen waste “concludes the expert, recalling that” As for avian flu, however, it is an emergency that only affects the livestock sector, without any impact on public health “.
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