Volume: 235, Published: 9 August 2023

China: Final notification on Ranavirus in American bullfrog

Date: 8 August 2023; Disease: Ranavirus; Location: Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan province of China

3,000 frogs were kept in a fish farm in Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County, but they had been dying unexpectedly in succession since April 11th, 2023. After the incident was reported to the Local Animal Disease Inspection Authority (LADIA), three samples of frozen frogs and organs were sent to the National Reference Laboratory for diagnosis. For the frog farm case, the RT-PCR result showed positive reactions to the nucleic acid of ranavirus on 5 May. According to the owner, in May, no abnormal mortality in the frog farm was observed, and he estimated death cases of frogs were 1,500. Therefore, the 50% mortality observed from the frog farm was considered to be caused by co-infection of ranavirus and bacterial (Aeromonas spp.) infection. In Taiwan, no other cases of the same or similar diseases were reported from other frog farms as of 25 July 2023. Read more at WOAH.

Pakistan: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) claims four lives

Date: 6 August 2023; Disease: CCHF; Location: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

With CCHF infecting 14 people and killing four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last one and a half months, health experts have called for preventive measures against the tick-borne disease. CCHF cases have been reported after Eidul Azha at the end of June 2023, according to a health department report. It said two people killed by the infection were Afghan nationals, while the other two belonged to Khyber tribal and Charsadda districts. The report said three of the confirmed cases were Afghan nationals, while five were the residents of Peshawar district, two of Lakki Marwat district and one of Charsadda, Khyber and Kohat districts each. Read more at Dawn and ProPakistani.

Nepal: Farmers distressed as lumpy skin disease (LSD) spreads in yak sheds

Date: 4 August 2023; Disease: LSD; Location: Ramechhap, Bagmati province, Nepal

LSD has spread in yak sheds of Sailung Rural Municipality areas of Ramechhap and has affected more than 14 yak sheds in the northern part of the district. So far as many as 46 yaks have died due to the disease. Yak farmers said the animals began to die one after another after the outbreak of the disease. There are as many as 480 yaks in 14 yak sheds. The livestock health technician of Sailung Rural Municipality said the pandemic had spread in the remote areas due to lack of vaccine. Most of the yaks have been badly affected after the disease was first seen in the rural municipality a week ago. Read more at The Himalayan Times. LSD has also been reported from Lalitpur where altogether 1431 cases have been identified, read more at The Himalayan Times.

India: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) suspected in  bovines in Navsari, Surat

Date: 4 August 2023; Disease: LSD (suspected); Location: Navsari, Surat, India

LSD, that killed over 5,000 bovines in Gujarat alone in 2022, has come to haunt the state again. Five bovines suspected to be infected with LSD have been isolated in Navsari district. Navsari district animal husbandry department has sent samples from the five bovines to the laboratory in Ahmedabad. Once it is confirmed that the cattle is infected, samples will be sent to National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in Bhopal for further investigation. Last year, more than 1 lakh bovines were affected by the viral disease. Read more at The Times of India.

China: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak reported in wild birds

Date: 3 August 2023; Disease; HPAI (H5N1); Location: Naqu City, Tibet, China

5128 wild birds (of unspecified species) died of HPAI (H5N1) in Naqu City, Tibet, China according to the official report submitted to WOAH. Citing the press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in China, media earlier reported that there is no poultry breeding household within 10000 km. After the outbreak, the local area immediately carried out emergency response in accordance with the provisions of the emergency implementation plan, carried out harmless treatment of all sick and dead wild birds, and carried out investigation, blockade and elimination of the surrounding environment, and strictly prohibited personnel, livestock and poultry from entering the epidemic control area. Read more at WOAH and Outbreak News Today.

India: Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) virus kills 300 goats Jharkhand

Date: 3 August 2023; Disease: PPR; Location: Hazaribag, Jharkhand

PPT, commonly known as sheep and goat plague, has claimed the lives of more than 300 goats in the last few days in the Daru block of the district.  This disease has spread in Kablasi, Medkuri, Irga, Harli and Digwar panchayats of the block. More than 150 goats have died so far in the Gadisadam village of Kablasi panchayat itself. Travelling veterinarians of Daru block identified this disease as PPR which occurs in goats during the rainy season. Insects are also eaten by goats with grass due to which this disease spreads, the duo said. The symptoms of this disease are fever, as well as goats and sheep, stop eating and drinking. Read more at Lagatar24.

Philippines: The country grappling with rising leptospirosis cases, 225 deaths

Date: 3 August 2023; Disease: Leptospirosis; Location: Multiple locations, Philippines

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) expressed concern over the rising number of leptospirosis cases in the country amid the flooding across many regions due to days of heavy rainfall. The health agency logged 2079 cases from 1 January 1 to 15 July in 2023, with at least 225 deaths. The DOH warned that cases may still increase. The cases were reported in at least 10 regions, including Metro Manila, which showed a rise in patients in the last four weeks. Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease affecting humans and animals. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), humans get infected through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or with a urine-contaminated environment. Read more at Manila Metro.

India: A Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) patient died Gujarat

Date: 2 August 2023; Disease: CCHF; Location: Lokalokki, Amreli, Gujarat, India

A 55-year-old male has died of CCHF along with other ailments whose test results came after the death and was confirmed positive for CCHF. With the onset of the rainy season, the CCHF epidemic has worsened. The patient was also suffering from diabetes, while the health department has taken further action after receiving a positive report (for CCHF) after 3 days of death. Read more at Pipa News.

Indonesia: African swine fever (ASF) virus devastates North Sulawesi pig farmers

Date: 31 July 2023; Disease: ASF; Location: North Sulawesi, Indonesia

The vice chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) shared that ASF virus is causing harm to breeders in the area adding that the pig farmers in North Sulawesi are suffering losses because their livestock has been infected. It was reported that the farmers are selling their pigs directly to buyers at low prices to avoid significant losses. The North Sulawesi Governor said that local governments have conducted surveillance and handling to check the spread of the virus, adding that the ASF virus was confirmed in Minahasa after the Maros veterinary laboratory in South Sulawesi announced the detection of the virus. The social impact of the virus has been quite high, and farmers have been devastated, the official added. Read more at Antara News.

Russian Federation: African swine fever (ASF) outbreak

Date: 4 August 2023; Disease: ASF; Location: Nezhnur, Russian Federation

One new outbreak of ASF in domestic pigs resulted in the death of 1 animal. There were altogether 4 pigs in the said group. Read more at WOAH. Two outbreaks in this series were reported earlier from Krasnomostovskoe and Yuzhnoe.

Study suggests that rise in antibiotic resistance is linked to pollution

Date: 8 August 2023

The rise of antibiotic-resistant microbes has put the world on edge: superbugs already kill more people than AIDS, malaria and some cancers. And the short- and medium-term outlook is bleak. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers this phenomenon to be “one of the biggest threats to global health” and points to the improper and excessive use of antibiotics as an accelerator of the problem. While the inappropriate consumption of these drugs garners most of the attention, it is not the only cause being studied. New research, published Monday in The Lancet Planetary Health, has also found a correlation between antibiotic resistance and pollution: the more air pollution, the more antibiotic resistance there is. Read more at Elpais.

New book on local experiences in dog-mediated rabies elimination in Asia

Date: 7 August 2023

The Asian continent is estimated to bear half of the global canine rabies burden alone. There, 86 people committed to freeing humans and animals from this lethal disease have come together to share what they have learnt along the path to “Zero by 30” and inspire others to join this global call. Thanks to financial support from the World Health Organization, this newly published book provides an open-access resource for rabies professionals of today and tomorrow, in any rabies-endemic country. “Rabies is a grave problem in low- and middle-income countries, yet it is preventable. Sadly, it is hugely underreported, underdiagnosed and underfunded. This trend must change. We cannot watch people die of this ancient disease in the modern world.” Naseem Salahuddin, co-author of “Mass Dog Vaccination and Animal Birth Control: A One Health Pilot Project in Karachi, Pakistan”. “We need a paradigm shift to achieve the goal of zero human-dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030. Community engagement and innovative tools and service delivery strategies will help to address a significant rabies transmission factor – free-roaming dogs.” Karoon Chanachai, co-author of “Oral Vaccination of Dogs as a Complementary Tool for Canine Rabies Control: The Thai Protocol”. Read more at WHO.

Serosurveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia

Date: 7 August 2023

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic betacoronavirus that was first reported at the dawn of 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread globally, causing an ongoing pandemic. Anthroponotic transmission was reported early, with confirmed infections reported in 26 species to date, including dogs and cats. However, there is a paucity of reports on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to companion animals, and thus, we aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in dogs and cats in Sarawak, Malaysia. From August 2022 to 2023, we screened plasma samples of 172 companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia, using a species-independent surrogate virus neutralization test. Our findings revealed the presence of neutralizing antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 in 24.5% (27/110) of dogs and 24.2% (15/62) of cats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Malaysia. Our findings emphasize the need for pet owners to distance themselves from their pets when unwell, and a strategy must be in place to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals to assess the potential impact of the virus on companion animals. Read more at Biomed Central.

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