Volume: 215, Published: 21 March 2023

Viet Nam: Rabies deaths reported in Lao Cai province
Date: 18 March 2023; Disease: Rabies; Location: Lao Cai province, Viet Nam
The Center for Disease Control of Lao Cai province recorded information about a case of a Lao Cai woman who died of rabies and was treated at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The patient is a 23-year-old female from the H’Mong ethnic group residing in Tham Phuc village, Coc Ly, Bac Ha. About 18 months ago, the patient was bitten by the family dog ​​on the left index finger with bleeding, after 3 days of biting the patient, the dog died. The patient did not receive rabies vaccine or serum. After that, the patient went to work in Hanoi until January 2023. The patient showed signs of illness and went to a private hospital and was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases with the following symptoms: Fatigue, irritability, shortness of breath, convulsions and excessive sputum secretion. On 17 January 2023, the patient was assigned to take saliva and cerebrospinal fluid samples for testing, the results were positive for rabies virus. Read more at Outbreak News Today.

Bhutan: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus outbreak in domestic birds
Date: 16 March 2023; Disease: HPAI (H5N1); Location: Singaygang, Tashichhoeling, Samtse, Bhutan
35 domestic birds died of HPAI (H5N1) in an outbreak at a domestic bird farm. Source of infection is reported as Fomites (humans, vehicles, feed, etc.) and contact with wild species. Read more at WOAH.

China: Cull ordered at southern Taiwan poultry farm after the confirmation of avian influenza
Date: 16 March 2023; Disease: HPAI (H5N1); Location: Pingtung County, Taiwan province of China
Birds at a poultry farm in Pingtung County were culled on 16 March after it was confirmed that birds in the flock had been infected with the H5N1 variant of avian influenza the previous day. The farmer reported several abnormal deaths of hens to local authorities on 13 March, and two days later, on 15 March, the presence of HPAI was confirmed. In response, the Animal Disease Control Center of Pingtung County was forced to cull 13,328 birds at the farm. Authorities also began a systematic inspection of 40 other poultry farms, all located within 3 kilometers of the reported infection site. Read more at Taiwan News.

India: Five year old boy dies of rabies after being bitten by stray dogs in Telangana
Date: 14 March 2023; Disease: Rabies; Location: Khammam district, Telangana, India
A 5-year-old boy died after he was attacked by stray dogs while playing outside on the streets in Telangana’s Khammam district. The boy was bitten by stray dogs a few days ago, had developed symptoms of rabies and he succumbed while being brought to Hyderabad for treatment. According to the child’s parents, he was injured when a pack of stray dogs attacked him while he was playing near his house in Putani thanda in Raghunadhapalem mandal. He was taken to a private hospital in Khammam after he fell sick. Read more at India.

Indonesia: African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Sulawesi Tengah
Date: 14 March 2023; Disease: ASF; Location: Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia
60 domestic pigs were confirmed positive for ASF in a recent outbreak. Read more at FAO. According to media reports, death of 60 pigs suspected of ASF were reported in Pamona, Poso, Central Sulawesi on 21 February 2023. The UPT Veterinary - Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of Central Sulawesi Province conducted an investigation as well as a follow up examination of deaths in pigs were carried out which was confirmed to be positive for ASF by laboratory results on 3 March 2023. Read more at Central Sulawesi.

Philippines: African swine fever (ASF) reported in 3 barangays in Carcar City, Cebu
Date: 14 March 2023; Location: Carcar City, Cebu, Philippines
Three barangays in Carcar City, Cebu had cases of ASF, prompting authorities to place these areas under a state of calamity. The Carcar Veterinary Office said 600 pigs needed to be culled in the affected areas, according to a report by Darlene Cay on Unang Balita based on information gathered by GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak. One hog raiser said he will lose P300,000 due to the culling. Meanwhile, the sale of pork meat at the Carcar Public Market has been slow. The Carcar City Council is preparing the assistance package that will be extended to affected hog raisers. Read more at GMA Network.

China: Ferret-badgers confirmed to have had rabies virus
Date: 11 March 2023; Disease: Rabies; Location: Miaoli County, Taiwan province of China
Three Formosan ferret-badgers have been confirmed as having had rabies, the first time the virus has been detected in Miaoli County, the Animal Care and Health Office shared. As part of a program being carried out by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine to assess the prevalence of rabies among wild animal across Taiwan, two Formosan ferret-badgers were captured in Jhuolan Township on 1 and 7 January and a third was caught in Taian Township on 18 January, the office said. The three animals died in captivity and were later confirmed by the Animal Health Research Institute as having been infected with the rabies virus, the office said. Read more at Taipei Times.

Russian Federation: African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in domestic pigs
Date: 10 March 2023; Disease: ASF; Location: Malaya Minusa and Yulovaya Maza, Russian Federation
22 domestic pigs died of ASF in one of the latest outbreaks. Read more at WOAH. Similarly one wild boar died of ASF in Yulovaya Maza. Read more at WOAH.

One million new vaccines to fight lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Indonesia
Date: 17 March 2023
Australia’s support to its near neighbours to control exotic animal diseases has received a boost with one million doses of LSD vaccines to be provided to Indonesia. An initial 500,000 vaccine doses will be delivered in the coming months to meet Indonesia’s immediate need with more to follow throughout the year. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt made the announcement during a keynote speech at the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association conference in Darwin this morning. He said the vaccines were a key part of the Australian Government’s ongoing support to Indonesia as they battle outbreaks of LSD and foot and mouth disease (FMD). Read more at The Ministry of Agriculture.

African swine fever (ASF) Asia and Pacific situation update
Date: 16 March 2023
Highlights from the most recent ASF situation update in the Asia and Pacific region includes confirmation of the first ASF case in Carcar City, Cebu Province of Philippines; reports of ASF in Central Sulawesi Province, following South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia; a wild boar carcass found at the very western part of the country tested positive for ASF in Nepal. Read more at FAO.

Mapping global bush meat activities to improve zoonotic spillover surveillance by using geospatial modeling
Date: 16 March 2023
Human populations that hunt, butcher, and sell bushmeat (bushmeat activities) are at increased risk for zoonotic pathogen spillover. Despite associations with global epidemics of severe illnesses, such as Ebola and mpox, quantitative assessments of bushmeat activities are lacking. However, such assessments could help prioritize pandemic prevention and preparedness efforts. We used geospatial models that combined published data on bushmeat activities and ecologic and demographic drivers to map the distribution of bushmeat activities in rural regions globally. The resulting map had high predictive capacity for bushmeat activities (true skill statistic = 0.94). The model showed that mammal species richness and deforestation were principal drivers of the geographic distribution of bushmeat activities and that countries in West and Central Africa had the highest proportion of land area associated with bushmeat activities. These findings could help prioritize future surveillance of bushmeat activities and forecast emerging zoonoses at a global scale. Get full text at CDC.

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