h5n1 in chicken n duck manure inc in fish ponds?

[1]
Date: Sat 3 Jun 2006
From: Martin Williams

Seeing the H5N1 situation in Indonesia, I wonder whether "integrated"
fish farming plays an important role in sustaining H5N1 [a concern
conservationists have raised. I received an email regarding a truck
load of chicken manure being dumped into a Vietnamese lake each day
as fish food. At one time, FAO promoted such farming methods].

Not that fish catch the flu, but dumping manure and carcasses into
ponds and having them eaten by fish possibly results in ponds that
can be reservoirs for flu virus [and possibility of transfer via farm
fish, in bellies, on skins, or with water if live fish are
transported?].

In this regard, it is interesting that Webster et al. have reported
H5N1 virus surviving for longer in fairly warm water than regular
wild bird flu viruses.

Here is a webpage I've done after a quick trip to Indonesia and a
fish farm where catfish were fed on chicken carcasses etc.:
.

I realize that WHO teams in Indonesia are extremely busy, but maybe
they could investigate the realities of this fish pond risk [for
example, if fish farms play a role, just slaughtering poultry is not
adequate for control, especially if a proportion of those poultry are
then used as fish food!].

--
Martin Williams

[Martin William's website is worth visiting for his photographs of
floating poultry carcasses in a family fish pond in Indonesia. These
photographs better illustrate the risk than our 3 reports on the same
topic. - Mod.MHJ]

[Scholtissek & Naylor indicated in 1988: "Global developments in
aquaculture -- the so-called 'Blue Revolution' -- will mean increased
colocation of people, ducks and pigs". (Fish farming and influenza
pandemics; Nature 331, 215).

See also "Chicken dung used to feed fish may help spread bird flu" in
20051228.3697, as well as Mod. MHJ's commentary in 20060518.1396:
"...depositing poultry faeces into the pond water would put any
wildfowl swimming in those waters at a real risk of becoming
infected...Birds faeces repeatedly trucked in for fish food would act
in the same way as a constant risk to birds flying into and out of
the fish pond areas".

Situations resembling the one described in Indonesia may prevail
in other countries as well. Aquaculture's potential hazard in HPAI
epidemiology deserves serious consideration and attention, not red
herringing the role of migratory birds in spreading the virus to
longer distances. - Mod.AS]

******
[2]
Date: Sun 4 Jun 2006
From: Joe Dudley

I raised this "fish as fomites" issue with Dr. Robert Webster at the
Rome conference.

Webster said that it was possible that live H5N1 virus could be
present in the intestinal tract of detritus-feeding fish, like carp,
that may eat infected poultry manure or as an environmental
contaminant in the intestinal tract of fish that had been raised in
ponds fertilized with infected poultry manure.

Live virus could also be present as an environmental contaminant in
the water used to transport live fish from farm to market.

Offal from commercial poultry slaughterhouses is reportedly used as a
source of feed for fish farms in Thailand that raise northern
snakeheads (_Channa striata_).

--
Joe Dudley
Chief Scientist, Biosecurity & Bioinformatics
EAI Corporation
SAIC

******
[3]
Date: Sun 4 Jun 2006
From: Simon Shane [Edited]

The point which your correspondents seem to miss is that Indonesian
subsistence farmers live in their poultry houses or rotate their
families through them for security, they drink crudely filtered pond
water, dress birds in the Kampong, and generally have intimate
contact with poultry, live bird dealers and all they come in contact
with!

I am concerned that ProMED is being "used" by the ornithological
fraternity to absolve their feathered constituency of any involvement
in dissemination of H5N1 HPAI. This is understandable, given fairly
widespread and indiscriminate shooting of migratory birds by the
Russians during the 2005 fall migration. There is a lot of blame to
go around, the inherently primitive farming system in Indonesia
(Suharto's edict against corporate farming placing a 10 000-bird
limit on flocks during the 1980s), lack of veterinary resources,
poverty, ignorance, superstition, etc.

The situation in Thailand is marginally better, especially in the
commercial operations (SAHA, Sun Valley, CP), but HPAI is endemic and
non-reported in the hinterland. China has done an excellent job of
saturation vaccination of the intensive and semi-intensive industry
segments and withholding information which is inconvenient.

My conclusion is that migratory birds acquire infection and either
die if susceptible or serve as transitory shedders, establishing
rolling infections among diverse species. Once HPAI is introduced
into an area, deficiencies in biosecurity, including primitive
farming practices and live bird sales requiring movement by itinerant
traders, disseminates infection. Humans with sialic acid 2-3 glycan
receptors are unfortunately zapped. Please remember that the gene
pool in some of the villages in Indonesia, Turkey and other areas is
very shallow, or to put it another way, sibling rivalry is grounds
for divorce!

--
Simon M. Shane FRCVS, PhD. MBL. dip ACPV
Emeritus Professor
205 Landreth Court
Durham NC 27713
USA

[see also:
Avian influenza, poultry vs migratory birds (22) 20060531.1522
Avian influenza, poultry vs migratory birds (21) 20060522.1446
Avian influenza, poultry vs migratory birds (20) 20060518.1396
2005
----
Avian influenza - Eurasia (111): Turkey, Asia fish feed 20051228.3697]
...................lm/mhj/msp/arn/lm

- I have emailed Prof Shane, several of whose ideas perhaps bizarre, inc re rolling infections:
"I am curious re your conclusion "that migratory birds acquire infection and either die if susceptible or serve as transitory shedders, establishing rolling infections among diverse species."

Evidence being?"

just sent following to contact in WHO:

Especially seeing H5N1 situation in Indonesia, I wonder if "integrated" fish farming plays important role in sustaining H5N1. (Something conservationists have raised, after an email I received re truck load of chicken manure dumped into Vietnamese lake each day, as fish food. FAO seems uninterested in looking into this; they promoted such farming methods, so I'm not sure if that's reason.)

Not as fish catch the flu; but as dumping manure and carcasses into ponds, having them eaten by fish, maybe get ponds that can be like reservoirs for flu. (And possibility of transfer via farm fish? - in bellies, on skins; with water if fish are transported?)

In this regard, perhaps interesting that Webster et al have reported H5N1 surviving for longer in fairly warm water than regular, wild bird flus.

Here's a webpage I've done after quick trip to Indonesia; on a fish farm, where catfish fed on chicken carcasses etc.
http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/conservation/catfish-farm.html
 
I realise WHO teams in Indonesia extremely busy, but maybe they could do a v little investigating.
(For if fish farms play a role, just slaughtering poultry not adequate for control - especially if proportion of those poultry then used as fish food!)

Almost a year after the outbreak of bird flu among the wild birds
near Qinghai Lake (Tso Ngonpo) that killed tens of thousands of wild
birds and Qinghai came to be associated with a deadly H5N1 strain of
bird flu, new cases of flu among wild birds have been reported since
late April near Qinghai Lake and in Yushu county, a remote nomadic
region several hundred kilometers to the south of Qinghai Lake. The
outbreak in wild birds continues to fuel fears that migratory birds
as carriers of the deadly avian flu could lead to global pandemic.
China's secrecy and the stonewalling of requests for information on
the flu outbreak continue to fuel speculation about the role of
migratory birds in the spread of flu.

Over the past year, the spread of the flu has not been correlated
with the migratory routes and seasons of wild birds. Indeed, some
global studies have found that migratory birds are not the cause of
the current wave of bird flu outbreaks stalking large parts of the
world. Rather, outbreaks have been concentrated in the factory farms
of China, South East Asia and elsewhere in the world. In India, the
epicenter of outbreak of bird flu took place in 18 poultry farms in
and around Navapur in Maharashtra. Since the Qinghai Lake outbreak
last year, outbreaks in other parts of world have occurred along
major transport routes. However increasing evidence suggests that
commercial poultry and its products, not migratory bird populations,
are the likely vectors of avian flu.

Fish farms and wild bird flu on Qinghai Lake At present, a new theory
is gaining ground that the outbreak in wild birds near Qinghai Lake
may be linked to fish farms around the lake. As early as 1998,
scientists cautioned that human health hazards like an influenza
pandemic could arise from the practice of bringing together fish
farms with farm livestock. Some researchers say that bird flu may be
spread by using chicken dung as feed in fish farms, a practice now
routine in Asia.

According to Le Hoang Sang, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City's
Pasteur Institute, "Chicken excrement is one of the main carriers of
the H5N1 virus, which can survive in a cool and wet environment for a
month and slightly less if in water." In January, a 9-year-old boy
died from bird flu in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh after he
caught it while swimming in water in which the bodies of infected
poultry had been thrown. BirdLife International, a global body for
bird protection groups in more than 100 countries, is calling for an
investigation into the possibility that the fish in these ponds,
which are fed with chicken dung, may be the means by which the new
strain of avian influenza, H5N1, is being spread. It says that
outbreaks of H5N1 have occurred this year at locations in China,
Romania and Croatia where there are fish farms.

The above theory, if proven right, puts a serious question mark over
this practice, which has been promoted actively by the UN's Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO). FAO have been active in the
development of commercial aquaculture, particularly in Qinghai Lake,
and is said to have helped establish an integrated livestock-fish
farm near the lake in the early 1990s. Qinghai Lake is the largest
inland lake on the Tibetan Plateau and its Bird Island attracts
thousands of seasonal bird populations including cormorants, gulls
and other species that feed upon the fingerlings and naked carp, a
species endemic to the Lake and commercially fished.

Commercial fishing was first carried out in 1958, and since the late
1980s the agricultural potential of the Qinghai Lake area was being
recognized and development encouraged, resulting in a rapidly growing
livestock industry. Due to abundance and good quality of water near
Qinghai Lake, attempts at introduction of exotic fish species are
being made. Fish farming was encouraged, both in the lake and in
surrounding reservoirs, supported by local fish feed manufacturing
facilities. Only an independent investigation into the cause of flu
among wild birds will tell whether the increased development of
fisheries in and around the Qinghai Lake has caused massive deaths in
the wild birds of Qinghai Lake.

*Namgyal has an MA in Sustainable International Development from the
Brandeis University and has been researching and writing on Tibetan
environmental issues for the past five years.
[url=http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=Qinghai+Bird+flu+caused+by+fish+\
farms%3F&id=12635]Qinghai Bird flu caused by fish farms?[/url]

Just done webpage with shots I took at Indonesian fish farm at beginning of this month, showing integrated fish farming in action - inc catfish feasting on chicken carcasses:

[url=http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/conservation/catfish-farm.html ]Farm fish fed dead chickens a risk for H5N1 influenza in Indonesia?[/url]

Recent article in Le Monde looks at possible role of integrated fish farming; includes (via babelfish):

- so FAO now has reservations it seems, after heavily promoting integrated fish farming. Yet, not very public about this, instead still ready blame for wild birds. Hmm...

I was just briefly in Indonesia; by happenstance to a fish farm, where took photos inc catfish feasting on chicken carcasses. Aim to post to a webpage here.

Soupçons sur les poissons et les porcs

After forum post (swans etc thread) from Ed Keeble, including

just done some googling, and some info maybe of interest:

Guff here includes big chicken manure exporter on Black Sea coast; duck manure used in fish farming in China, Russia, parts of east Europe.

Fertilizer exporters:

http://www.tradekey.com/ks-Bio-fertilizer/
Nikkom site does mention "struction of pathogenic micro flora" - but still, interesting...
http://www.nikkom.onplex.de/fertilizer_eng.htm

and

http://www.made-in-china.com/products/catlist/listcatprod/105020/no/8/Ag...

News article, from 2000:

http://english.people.com.cn/english/200002/07/eng20000207T101.html

As far as I've noticed amidst flurry of info, much of focus re potential role of poultry manure in sustaining (and spreading) H5N1 has been on chickens. But, turns out ducks important too.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC264E/AC264E09.htm#ch7.3

A paper looking at integrated fish farming on one farm (in early 1980s) includes:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC248E/AC248E00.htmPost edited by: martin, at: 2006/02/21 14:57

from Richard Thomas of Birdlife:

UN vet dismisses fish farming as bird flu risk is Reuters story.

Despite the headline, chief vet Dr Joseph Domenech (yes, the key blamer of birds in FAO - or at least the key public face of blame lately) does not dismiss the risk:

- but where is such correct surveillance in place? Almost nowhere I should think; and were fish farmers in Russia, eastern Europe, even Qinghai, lately on lookout for H5N1? No, I'd say.
Even in poultry farms in regions with H5N1, surveillance can be poor or terrible - witness several human cases, only after which has H5N1 been found in local poultry. Then, get cover-ups by officials.

and here's the key. Not science, but FAO mission to promote food security (no matter the potential risks of disease spread - potential heightened inflienza risk from dodgy fish farming practices warned of back in 1988, yet FAO promoted them, evidently viewing rewards as outweighing risks. Now, seems unwilling to even look for potential problems; just saying can't be there as issue's too important.

Nonsense! It's straightforward and valid to say, right now, birds are not major vectors; they can't sustain high path avian flus. There is plenty of data; and there's natural selection.

Post edited by: martin, at: 2006/01/21 02:35

Dear Les:

Well, I think this is very different.
Firstly, as wild birds shown to not be major vectors: ample evidence; plus they can't sustain high path avian influenza because of natural selection.

Yes, may be rare incidences of wild birds spreading some distance, but even in Mongolia it's bizarre (species involved not moving at the time); I saw a note that Mongolian hunters use live decoy ducks from China; then, at least Erkhel is a tourist destination.
Much is widely unknown re h5n1 strains in China, I believe; read that Guan Yi's team has identified 250 strains from over 100,000 samples; and he's lately said migratory birds not responsible for spread.

So, H5N1 being sustained and moved by other means. And FAO at high levels showing v little interest of late in finding what those might be. (For the recent outbreaks.) I'll post a little re this below.

Birdlife not saying chicken manure/fishponds certainly involved. But evidence looking well worth closer look. Inc as various recent wild bird outbreaks - Qinghai, at least some sites Russia, also Danube Delta, Croatia - on or near fishponds.
There's chicken offal feeding to fish to consider, too.
We know H5N1 can survive for long periods in water. Even back in 1988, warnings sounded that may be links between fish farming and influenza.
So, where is the FAO report linking fish farming and recent H5N1 spread? (FAO produced a report on birds and the h5n1 spread - slanting blame on birds, even tho conclusions included notion that just possibly the sick/dying birds with h5n1 couldn't carry it long distances.)

Major point is that lately, FAO at higher level has lost balance and objectivity. Has not explored all possible routes of transmission - not publicly, anyway.

Regards,
Martin

Article from New Zealand Herald - 28/12/05

Bird flu could be linked to fish farming

28.12.05 1.00pm
By Michael McCarthy

Bird flu may be spread by using chicken dung as feed in fish farms, a practice now routine in Asia, the world's leading bird conservation organisation believes.

Fertilising fish ponds with poultry faeces, which can dramatically improve fish growth, may in fact set up major new reservoirs of avian influenza infection if the chickens providing the manure are infected themselves, according to BirdLife International, the Cambridge-based umbrella body for bird protection groups in more than 100 countries.

The suggestion, which has echoes of the BSE problem in Britain, in which cattle were infected by organic feed, is an explosive one, on an international scale.

It puts a serious question mark over a technique firmly backed by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as a primary means of providing protein for mushrooming populations in the developing countries - suggesting that millions of people, instead of being helped by it, might ultimately die because of it, in a global pandemic.

Known as integrated livestock-fish farming, the technique involves transferring the wastes from raising pigs, ducks or chickens directly to fish farms, with chicken or duck sheds sometimes sited directly over the fish ponds themselves.

At the right dosage, the nutrients in the manure give an enormous boost to the growth of plankton in the ponds, which are the main food of fish such as carp and tilapia.

This is taking place on an enormous scale. According to an FAO report from two years ago, it is now the main basis for aquaculture in China and neighbouring countries.

"Livestock wastes purposely used in ponds, or draining into them, support the production of most cultured fish in Asia," the report said.

"Much of the vast increase in China's recent inland aquaculture production is linked to organic fertilisation, provided by the equally dramatic growth of poultry and pig production."

BirdLife International is now calling for an investigation into the possibility that these thousands of manure-fed ponds across Asia may be the means by which the new, potentially deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1, is being spread.

BirdLife points out that outbreaks of H5N1 have occurred this year at locations in China, Romania and Croatia where there are fish farms.

The Chinese outbreak, which involved a big die-off of 6000 wild birds, mainly bar-headed geese, took place in May this year at Qinghai Lake, a location where the FAO helped establish an integrated livestock-fish farm in the early 1990s, BirdLife said.

"This outbreak helped lead to the widespread media speculation about wild birds spreading H5N1," said BirdLife's Richard Thomas.

"We pointed out that bar-headed geese migrate from India, where H5N1 has never occurred, and migrate early, so they must have contracted the disease locally, at Qinghai."

BirdLife does not think that wild birds are vectors - carriers - of H5N1, and believes that the widespread speculation during the autumn that migratory birds would spread bird flu from Asia far and wide into Europe was entirely misplaced.

"Millions of birds have now migrated, and it hasn't happened," said BirdLife's Director and Chief Executive, Dr Michael Rands.

"Wild birds are victims, not vectors, of avian influenza. We believe that when wild birds get it, they're very susceptible, and die before they can move very far. Some fall over straight away."

Although no mention was been made of the possible links between manure-fed ponds and influenza in the recent alarm over bird flu, it has been raised before, and the FAO, although actively promoting the technique, is well aware of the threat.

A FAO report from 2003, "Integrated Livestock-Fish Farming Systems," noted: "Recently, livestock and fish have been implicated in the irregular occurrence of influenza pandemics; the global impacts on public health of promoting livestock and fish integration are huge if these claims are substantiated."

In fact, the FAO has been aware that some scientists think there is a risk for very much longer.

The references to the 2003 report include one to a paper published in Nature, the international scientific journal, as long ago as 1988.

This paper, by Christoph Scholtissek from the University of Giessen in Germany and Ernest Naylor from the University of Bangor in North Wales was headed "Fish Farming and Influenza Pandemics", said that bringing together fish farms with farm livestock "may well be the creation of a considerable human health hazard."

However, the FAO has continued to promote integrated livestock-fish farming actively throughout the ensuing period.

Dr Rands said: "There appears to be some circumstantial evidence that one of the ways in which the disease might be spreading is through the use of chicken faeces for feeding fish.

"We are not aware that people have confirmed that that is a likely cause - but people have suggested it. If it's a possibility, and if it presents a serious human health risk, it certainly ought to be researched, and if it has been researched, the research should be out there for us all to see."

He went on: "Wild birds are often being blamed for the spread of avian influenza, but as far as we can tell there is no clear evidence, in fact no evidence.

"The science that there is suggests that wild birds are not to blame for the spread. If you look at migration routes and spread of the disease, the correlation is really quite poor. Millions of birds migrated this autumn, and if they really were the means of spreading bird flu, it should be all over the place in Africa and southern Asia - and it's not happened."

- INDEPENDENT

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10361729

Link to Independent:
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article335356.ecePost edited by: martin, at: 2006/01/21 02:26