Understanding Infection Dynamics and Survival of HPAI and APMV-1 in Poultry and the Environment

<p>An improved understanding of the survival of notifiable avian disease viruses in the environment is fundamental to enhancing the understanding of the epidemiology and spread of these viruses and to ensure appropriate measures are in place to control any outbreaks of notifiable disease that occur.</p>

<p>In the European Union, and many other countries world-wide, control measures for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and Newcastle disease (ND) are imposed by legislation and involve the implementation of stamping out policies and movement restrictions which result in serious trade implications. In the UK, both diseases are exotic, though, as with other countries in the EU, sporadic incursions of virus and outbreaks of disease do occur. This leads to the implementation of disease control measures as summarised above, with associated impacts on trade, the economy and potentially food security. In countries where the diseases are endemic, these viruses represent an ongoing threat to poultry production, trade, food security and animal welfare. When outbreaks occur, or when contingency plans are being drawn up, those involved in disease control strategy decision-making or policy formulation need information on the presence and survival of the viruses in the environment and the effect of different mediums on this duration.</p>

<p>This proposal is submitted in response to needs identified by Defra for further work to build on and consolidate existing data that is either publicly available, or has been generated in previous projects completed at AHVLA to understand the survival of Avian Influenza (AI) and avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) viruses in the environment.</p>

<p>The aim of the proposed work is to apply the tools, models and knowledge developed in the previous projects to generate this targeted data. This will consolidate and augment existing data sets and produce new information where data gaps have been identified. These large, comparable, data sets will provide an essential resource to enable assessment of the survival of these important viruses in the environment and directly inform the assessment of the risk they represent to the poultry industry at both a national and international level.</p>

<p>The information generated will be of use to both animal and human health officials; it will be made publicly available via peer-reviewed publication in scientific and special interest forums such as seminars, papers and websites.</p>