Western Meeting of Poultry

 Clinicians and Pathologists 

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The Netherlands after the AI outbreak

 Outbreaks of Avian Influenza have increased significantly worldwide during the last 10 years. Not only have they had implications for the poultry industry but also for human health. The Netherlands was hit by an outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) between March 4 – May 23, 2003, which resulted in 255 confirmed cases of HPAI H7N7 and the preventive culling of uninfected birds (as the result of the implementation of EU directive 92/40). A total of 30.7 million birds were culled (6 million on infected farms). The AI outbreak in The Netherlands accounted for €270 million in direct costs and indirect costs were calculated at €1.1 billion as the result of lost exports, extra cleaning and disinfection, loss of income, etc. Human implications were reported, mainly as several hundred cases of conjunctivitis and the death of one veterinarian among the people involved in the control of the epidemic. Repopulation of farms in affected areas was started carefully with the implementation of a control program to guarantee the negative status of the birds. Furthermore, a mandatory  “Early Warning System” has been established for veterinarians and poultry farmers to report and thoroughly investigate farms in which a sudden increase in mortality (> 3%) or a decrease in consumption of water/feed (>20%) is observed. Furthermore all poultry farms are regularly serologically monitored for the presence of antibodies against Avian Influenza.

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Last modified: 5/28/2009