H7N3 Mexico

 CIDRAP
 Excerpt:
In other avian flu developments, Mexican officials are still battling outbreaks of highly pathogenic H7N3 in Jalisco state, an area that is one of the country's biggest egg producers, according to an OIE report yesterday. It detailed three recent outbreaks that struck farms in the middle of August, one that started on Aug 13 and two others that began on Aug 20.

Of 1,090,260 birds that were susceptible at the three locations, the virus sickened 86,569 and killed almost the same number. The report said authorities destroyed 477,930 more to keep the virus from spreading. 

The report described a massive surveillance operation that has so far sampled birds at 537 production units. So far 44 H7N3 isolates have been detected at the commercial layer farms, and 1 isolate has been found in wild birds. 

To date 11 million chickens have been culled to curb the virus, and other control measures that apply to the birds and their byproducts are still in place, according to the report.

Surveillance activities have not found the virus at farms or in backyard birds in other parts of Mexico, suggesting the outbreak is under control, the report said.

Officials launched a poultry vaccination campaign using a product manufactured in Mexico on Jun 26, and, as of Sep 14, 125.8 million doses have been given, some of which are booster doses. Vaccination activities will continue another 60 to 90 days, according to the OIE report. 

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/sep1812avian.html