Animal Disease Outbreaks and News Asia - 18 August 2023 (2023)

Philippines: Rising cases of leptospirosis in Quezon City is a worrying trend

Date: August 16, 2023; Disease: Leptospirosis; Place: Quezon City, Philippines

Quezon City has sounded the alarm over the rising number of cases of potentially fatal but preventable leptospirosis. According to the Quezon City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU), five deaths in recent weeks from different barangays — Sauyo, South Triangle, Quirino 2-C, Commonwealth and Batasan Hills — have been attributed to leptospirosis. The statement said this worrying trend pushes the number of deaths from the disease to escalate to 12 (up from 8 last year). CESU said there had been an increase in leptospirosis cases in the city over the past two weeks. From August 8 to August 14, CESU recorded 34 new cases of leptospirosis - 13.33 percent higher compared to the 30 infections it reported the week before or from August 1 to August 7. It added that it detected 20 new cases on Monday alone. The total number of leptospirosis cases so far this year in the city has risen to 114. Read more atABS-CBN.

Pakistan: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) claims another life

Date: August 12, 2023; Disease: CCHF; Place: Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan

Another Congo virus patient died at a hospital in Balochistan, bringing the death toll this year from the viral disease to 9. The 52-year-old male patient was taken to Fatima Jinnah Hospital in a critical condition, according to hospital officials. Officials shared that 26 CCHF patients have been reported in Balochistan and nine of them have died. Earlier this year, eight people including women and children died of CCHF in different districts of Balochistan. This is not the first time that an epidemic of CCHF has broken out in Balochistan. In the late 1980s and mid-1990s, dozens of people had died from the disease, health sources said. read more onAnd news.

Indonesia: Extra lumpy skin disease (LSD) detected in Australian cattle

Date: August 12, 2023; Disease: LSD; Location: Indonesia / Australia

Three more Australian cattle have tested positive for LSD in Indonesia, according to the country's Agricultural Quarantine Agency (IAQA). It is clear that the cattle in which the new cases were detected were part of a shipment that was on the water to Indonesia when the first detections were confirmed at the end of last month. Australian officials continue to point to the fact that LSD has never been found in Australia, and consider it the most likely scenario for Australian cattle to contract the virus while sailing near Indonesia or upon arrival in the country. The highly contagious disease, which is spread by biting insects, has been widespread in Indonesia since the disease was confirmed there in March 2022. Indonesian officials have told the media that LSD's incubation period of up to 28 days means it is possible, that cattle in Australia were exposed to the disease. read more onBeef Central. Following the incident and subsequent media reports, Malaysia's Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has temporarily suspended imports of live cattle and buffalo from Australia with effect from 4 August. An official statement said the temporary suspension is a precautionary measure if the allegation is found to be true as Malaysia also imports more than RM25 million of cattle and buffalo from Australia. read more onThe sun daily.

Bhutan: Outbreak of skin diseases kills 1,244 cattle

Date: August 10, 2023; Disease: LSD; Location: Multiple locations, Bhutan

In a series of outbreaks (21 reported in total), 1244 cattle died, while 13477 tested positive out of a total cattle population of 239660 animals. In a recent report to WOAH, the source of infection is listed as contact with infected animals on pastures/water points, fomites (people, vehicles, feed, etc.), vectors, and legal animal movements. read more onWOW.

Afghanistan: Update Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

Date: August 10, 2023; Disease: CCHF; Location: Several locations, Afghanistan

In a follow-up to the CCHF situation in Afghanistan this year, officials report 806 cumulative cases and 86 deaths through August 5, 2023. The CCHF-associated deaths were reported from 14 provinces—two-thirds of which came from two provinces; Kabul (43, 50.0%) and Balkh (13, 15.1%). Of the total number of cases, 805 (99.9%) were older than 5 years and 245 (30.4%) were female. CCHF is endemic to Afghanistan; between 2017 and 2022, the total number of reported suspected cases and deaths were 1,971 and 207, respectively. 97.5% (1,922) were over five years of age, and women comprised 25.9% (510). read more onBreaking news today.

Bangladesh: Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSD) panic grips livestock farmers in Nageshwari

Date: August 9, 2023; Disease: LSD; Location: Nageshwari Upazila and Dhanbari Upazila, Bangladesh

Marginal farmers in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram are worried about the rise in LSD in livestock. The infection rate of the disease is much higher this time than before. It is spread from one cow to another by mosquitoes. As a result, the number of infected cows is constantly increasing. Among them, the number of calves is high. The affected cows are physically very weak despite medical treatment and care. Many cows die because they cannot withstand the stress of the disease. Some farmers said they were unable to save their affected cows despite the doctor's advice. read more onThe Daily Observer. Similarly, LSD is also spread in Dhanbari upazila of Tangail Dhanbari as cows are dying from the disease every day in the upaizla. The farmers of the upazila are now in trouble because the virus has spread like an epidemic to every union of the upazila. read more onDaily Asian Age.

Nepal: Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) kills more than 5,700 cattle in Lumbini; The number of infections decreases

Date: August 8, 2023; Disease: LSD; Location: Lumbini Province, Nepal

A total of 5,748 cattle have died from the disease in Lumbini province since the LSD outbreak. However, veterinary officials have shared that the infection rate has decreased in recent days thanks to massive awareness and vaccination campaigns. The directorate of livestock and fisheries development in Lumbini province said 180,978 cattle have been infected with LSD so far in the districts of the province with the highest number of infections in Banke district. Banke recorded 40,801 cases of LSD while Nawalparasi has the lowest number of cases at 497, the acting director of the directorate shared with the media. read more onNepal news.

India: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is spreading in nine districts of Kerala

Dato: 6. august 2023; disease MKZ; Sted: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kasaragod and Kannur, Kerala, India

Dairy farmers are increasingly concerned after more than a thousand cattle in nine districts have been diagnosed with FMD. The disease has been detected in 51 places in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kasaragod and Kannur districts. Of the 1043 infected cattle, 61 died in July, including 41 calves. The disease appears to have been introduced through livestock brought in from abroad. In response to this, Dyreværnet has taken steps to screen livestock at all 19 checkpoints. The Chief Disease Investigation Officer in Palode has led efforts to collect samples from affected areas and then make diagnoses. These samples have been sent to the central laboratory in Bhubaneswar for further analysis regarding FMD. read more onKerala Mundi.

Russian Federation: outbreak of African swine fever (ASF).

Date: August 11, 2023; Disease: AVP; Place: Ovoshhi and Bronnitsky, Russian Federation

In a recent outbreak, six pigs on a domestic pig farm were confirmed positive for ASF. No deaths were reported. read more onWOW. Similarly, in another outbreak in Bronnitsky, 12 animals died out of a population of 19 pigs. read more onWOW.

Russian Federation: Outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1

Date: August 14, 2023; Disease: HPAI (H5N1); Location: Bashkirskaya, Russian Federation

Fifteen birds on a domestic poultry farm died during a recent outbreak of HPAI H5N1. read more onWOW.

African swine fever (ASF) situation update in Asia and the Pacific

Date: 17. August 2023

The latest edition of the ASF Asia and Pacific situation update includes reports that ASF flared up again in Bac Kan province after a year without an outbreak in Vietnam; ASF cases were first reported in Bohol province in the Philippines; and continued reports of additional cases from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. read more onFAO.

India: Sikkim bans open grazing of livestock to combat Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD).

Date: 11. August 2023

The Mangan district authority in Sikkim had issued an order to imprison livestock and restrict open grazing due to the rising levels of LSD. The government has already declared the disease epidemic. An order by the authority says that the LSD has been observed to spread rapidly among the cattle population in the district, resulting in the death of cattle. It is added that in order to prevent the spread of the disease, all farmers/pastoralists are hereby advised to feed their animals. cattle in the confinement of the cattle shed. It is also recommended to avoid open grazing by livestock and other animals to prevent further spread of the disease. read more onIndia Today NO.

Cyprus begins treating the island's sick cats with anti-COVID pills

Date: 10. August 2023

Veterinary services in Cyprus have received a first batch of anti-COVID pills, from a supply originally intended for humans, as efforts intensify to stop the spread of a virulent variant of the feline virus that has killed thousands of cats. The island's health ministry began treatment on August 8 - long celebrated as International Cat Day - in what is expected to mark the beginning of the end of the disease that has hit the Mediterranean cat population. The Director of Government Veterinary Services said they have completed the inventory of 500 boxes of medicine and this was the first batch of 2,000 packages made available. read more onThe guardor see furtherThe BBC's YouTube channel.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF): A new viral infection in India, reconsidered and lessons learned

Date: 10. August 2023

CCHF is a zoonotic disease caused by the CCHF virus. The disease was first recognized in 1944 in the Crimea region of the former Soviet Union and was subsequently isolated in the Congo from a child with similar symptoms. Therefore, the virus was named Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. CCHF is an emerging disease with more than 1000 human cases reported annually from Southeast Europe and West Asia. The disease is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 CCHF infections per year. The geographic range of CCHF virus is the most extensive among the tick-borne viruses that infect humans. The first CCHF outbreak in India was described in 2011 in the state of Gujarat with four cases reported. Since then, sporadic cases have occurred in India in small clusters with community and hospital spread. Here we describe three cases treated at a tertiary care teaching hospital in the Indian state of Gujarat. All initially had nonspecific symptoms of viremia, followed by a rapid worsening of the general condition. Two of the three patients died. Because of its similarity to other hemorrhagic fevers, the diagnosis of CCHF remains challenging, especially in non-endemic areas. We endeavor to sensitize readers to this new arboviral disease because the virus is highly contagious and has a high mortality rate. Therefore, it is crucial to suspect and diagnose the index case as early as possible. read more onCureus.

Skin disease in an endangered wild banteng (Bos javanicus) and start of a pet vaccination campaign in Cambodia

Date: 8. August 2023

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Royal Government of Cambodia have documented the first case of nodular skin disease (LSD) in wildlife in Cambodia. The case involved a banteng (Bos javanicus), an endangered species of wild cattle, which was discovered by members of Our Future Organization community patrol while patrolling the Phnom Tnout – Phnom Pork Wildlife Sanctuary in September 2021. The banteng is suspected of carrying the disease contracted. virus from infected cattle grazing nearby, as the virus had already been detected in domestic cattle in the country at that time. To protect free-ranging wild cattle from LSD, a vaccination campaign was launched for domestic cattle within a 20 km radius of protected areas in Mondulkiri and Preah Vihear provinces. read more onEureka alarmor see the full text atFrontiers in Veterinary Medicine.

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