What poultry keepers think they should do if they suspect avian flu

Sol Elliot, Final Year (5th) Veterinary student at the School of University Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, updates from her survey which aims to find out how vets and owners view Avian Flu.

- Sol Elliot

This month I thought it would be useful to focus on some of the more concerning answers to the survey. I previously discussed what bird keepers would look for in the way of symptoms for Avian Influenza. Following on from this, we asked poultry keepers "What would your next course of action be after suspecting a case of Avian Influenza in your flock?"

Again, this was a free-text answer, so owners were able to write what they felt would be appropriate in this situation. Exact phrases such as: 'Report to DEFRA' (58 of 1556 respondents), 'Report to APHA' (12), 'Call a vet' (9) 'Call the vet' (33), 'Call DEFRA' (29), 'Check DEFRA website' (6) came up frequently. The following words were popular in the responses: DEFRA (562), Vet (855), APHA (116), Cull (45), Isolate (47), Google (24).

Some respondents weren't as informed, with answers such as "don't know" (2 respondents both with 1-10 birds) and "Not/unsure" (8).

RELUCTANCE TO INFORM THE AUTHORITIES