Latest news with #WorldOrganisationForAnimalHealth
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Health
- Reuters
Slovenia reports outbreak of bluetongue disease on sheep farm
PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) - Slovenia has reported an outbreak of bluetongue disease on a sheep farm in the southwest, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Tuesday, citing Slovenian authorities. Bluetongue can be deadly for domestic ruminants such as sheep, cattle and goats. It does not affect humans or the safety of animal meat or milk. One sheep was affected by the virus on a sheep farm with 49 animals in the town of Ilirska Bistrica, the report says.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
South Africa reports H5N1 bird flu on poultry farms, international agency says
PARIS (Reuters) -South Africa has reported the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, on two poultry farms in the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Wednesday. The cases were the first in South Africa since September last year, Paris-based WOAH said in a notification. South Africa's poultry sector has been recovering from an outbreak in 2023 that led to the loss of a third of the national chicken flock. The industry has been wary of a resurgence of the diseases amid criticism of the rollout of a government vaccination programme. Bird flu has ravaged poultry flocks worldwide in recent years, including in the United States, and top poultry exporter Brazil this year reported its first known case on a commercial farm. In South Africa, the new outbreaks killed 1,150 poultry birds on the affected firms, Paris-based WOAH said, citing South African authorities. This included 300 birds killed on a farm in Tswaing in North West province and 850 birds that died on a farm in Mkhondo in Mpumalanga province.
Reuters
02-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
South Africa reports H5N1 bird flu on poultry farms, international agency says
PARIS, July 2 (Reuters) - South Africa has reported the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, on two poultry farms in the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Wednesday. The cases were the first in South Africa since September last year, Paris-based WOAH said in a notification. South Africa's poultry sector has been recovering from an outbreak in 2023 that led to the loss of a third of the national chicken flock. The industry has been wary of a resurgence of the diseases amid criticism of the rollout of a government vaccination programme. Bird flu has ravaged poultry flocks worldwide in recent years, including in the United States, and top poultry exporter Brazil this year reported its first known case on a commercial farm. In South Africa, the new outbreaks killed 1,150 poultry birds on the affected firms, Paris-based WOAH said, citing South African authorities. This included 300 birds killed on a farm in Tswaing in North West province and 850 birds that died on a farm in Mkhondo in Mpumalanga province.
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
First case of highly infectious viral disease detected on French cattle farm
France has detected a case of lumpy skin disease at a cattle farm in the Savoie region near the Alps. On Sunday, the agriculture ministry confirmed it was the country's first outbreak of the highly infectious viral disease. Lumpy skin disease, which causes fevers and blisters in infected cattle and buffalo, is transmitted by insect bites, such as those from mosquitoes and ticks. While it does not pose a risk to humans, outbreaks often lead to trade restrictions and devastating income losses for cattle farmers due to deaths, decreased milk production, emaciated animals, and birth issues. The disease, which is widespread in North Africa, has also been detected in Italy in recent weeks, the first known occurrence in the country. Following the case, detected on June 21 on a cattle farm in Sardinia, the UK has restricted imports of live bovine animals, their germplasm, raw milk and milk products of bovine origin and bovine offal. According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, the outbreak was confirmed following clinical suspicion. The origin of the infection is unknown or inconclusive. French authorities have restricted cattle movement in a 50-kilometre (31-mile) area around the outbreak to try to contain the disease, the ministry said. In 2022, an outbreak of the viral disease killed nearly 100,000 cows and buffaloes in India and sickened more than two million others. The outbreak had a disproportionate impact on small farmers, many of whom had insulated themselves from the shocks of climate change by rearing cattle for milk, said Devinder Sharma, an agriculture policy expert in northern Chandigarh city.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brazil says free of bird flu, will resume poultry exports
Brazil said Wednesday it was free of bird flu, paving the way for it to resume chicken exports to China and 20 other countries after a month-long suspension. The world's top exporter of chicken meat was forced to halt exports to its main client China, the European Union and fellow Latin American countries over an outbreak of "highly pathogenic avian influenza" (HPAI) on a farm in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. A case was also later confirmed at Brasilia's zoo, where a pigeon and a duck were found dead, but it did not lead to new restrictions on the poultry industry as it involved wild birds. On Wednesday, the government said it had informed the World Organisation for Animal Health that the 28-day quarantine period without any new cases being detected had passed. "The country is declaring itself free of highly pathogenic avian influenza," the agriculture ministry said in a statement. Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro announced a "gradual resumption" of poultry exports. Avian flu has spread globally in recent years, leading to mass culling of poultry, some human deaths, and rising egg prices. Infections in humans can cause severe disease with a high mortality rate, according to the World Health Organization, but the virus does not appear to move easily from person to person. Human cases detected so far were mostly in people who had close contact with infected birds and other animals, or contaminated environments. rsr/cb/acb
