New study makes avian flu biosecurity warnings

Farm-based biosecurity measures will not be enough on their own to improve the British poultry industry’s resilience to avian influenza (AI), new research has claimed.

Academics have called for a “joined-up, multi-faceted approach” to address concerns including planning regulation, financial risk and the challenges faced by different sectors of production.

But the study, published in the Environmental Research: Food Systems journal, warned “more challenging debates” about the industry’s current structure will also need to be addressed.

Researchers at the RVC, plus the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, say the issue has become particularly important because of the scale of AI outbreaks in recent years.

‘Distinct challenges’

But they also warned of “distinct challenges” caused by the interactions between concentrated areas of poultry production and wild or semi-wild birds.

It pointed out that APHA data from the 2022 and 2023 AI seasons showed 93% of cases were caused by contact between the two, with “only a small number” being linked to transmission between infected poultry sites.

The paper added: “We argue that farm-level biosecurity, while necessary, is insufficient to secure Britain’s poultry production under near-endemic avian influenza virus pressure.

“A more bio-resilient poultry future will require macro-level, multi-sectoral coordination that integrates spatial planning, infrastructure renewal and equitable risk-sharing mechanisms for disease preparedness.”

Areas of concern

Among the main areas of concern is weaknesses in planning regulations, which some critics fear may be increasing the risk of AI spreading.

One vet quoted in the paper described moves by local planning officials to impose conditions for ponds to be sited close to new sheds as “crazy” from the perspective of virus prevention.

The study suggested that problem, together with other issues including planning “bottlenecks”, inconsistencies in livestock compensation and failures in virus insurance, could be addressed through the development of a new national poultry strategy or an alternative policy framework.

Challenging debates

But it continued: “Beyond these considerations lie more challenging debates around whether the current level of intensive production and low-cost poultry has long-term viability, particularly regarding ecological sustainability. In recent times, there have been numerous calls for significant reductions in national meat consumption in Britain.

“Alternative poultry futures could include those with lower levels of national meat consumption and where other models of production make significant contributions, rather than those which offshore production and increase reliance on cheap imported poultry.”

Co-author Ivo Syndicus, a postdoctoral researcher in social science transformations of biosecurity at the University of Oxford, said the study had highlighted the challenges created by the industry’s “entanglements with social, economic and environmental issues”.

He added: “To address the threat poultry in Britain faces from avian influenza, it is important that we look beyond farm-level biosecurity alone and taken a broader view of how the structure of our poultry industry may create specific vulnerabilities.”