We analyzed the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 epizootic of 2016–17 in Europe by epidemiologic and genetic characteristics and compared it with 2 previous epizootics caused by the same H5 Guangdong lineage. The 2016–17 epizootic was the largest in Europe by number of countries and farms affected and greatest diversity of wild birds infected. We observed significant differences among the 3 epizootics regarding region affected, epidemic curve, seasonality, and outbreak duration, making it difficult to predict future HPAI epizootics. However, we know that in 2005–06 and 2016–17 the initial peak of wild bird detections preceded the peak of poultry outbreaks within Europe. Phylogenetic analysis of 2016–17 viruses indicates 2 main pathways into Europe. Our findings highlight the need for global surveillance of viral changes to inform disease preparedness, detection, and control.

SummaryA tentative novel member of the genus Lyssavirus, designated as Kotalahti bat lyssavirus, was detected in a Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii) in Finland. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the virus differs from other known lyssaviruses, being closely related to Khujand virus, Aravan virus, Bokeloh bat lyssavirus and European bat lyssavirus 2. | MATERIALS AND METHODSIn August 2017, a dead bat was found outside a vacation home in Eastern Finland in the municipality of Lepp€ avirta (62°29 0 30″N, 027°47 0 15″E), in the village of Kotalahti. The bat was sent to the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira for autopsy. The bat was a ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

There is a growing diversity of bat-associated lyssaviruses in the Old World. In August 2017, a dead Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii) tested positive for rabies and based on partial sequence analysis, the novel Kotalahti bat lyssavirus (KBLV) was identified. Because the bat was in an autolyzed state, isolation of KBLV was neither successful after three consecutive cell passages on cells nor in mice. Next generation sequencing (NGS) was applied using Ion Torrent ™ S5 technology coupled with target enrichment via hybridization-based capture (myBaits®) was used to sequence 99% of the genome, comprising of 11,878 nucleotides (nt). KBLV is most closely related to EBLV-2 (78.7% identity), followed by KHUV (79.0%) and BBLV (77.6%), supporting the assignment as phylogroup I lyssavirus. Interestingly, all of these lyssaviruses were also isolated from bat species of the genus Myotis, thus supporting that M. brandtii is likely the reservoir host. All information on antigenic and genetic divergence fulfil the species demarcation criteria by ICTV, so that we recommend KBLV as a novel species within the Lyssavirus genus. Next to sequence analyses, assignment to phylogroup I was functionally corroborated by cross-neutralization of G-deleted RABV, pseudotyped with KBLV-G by sera from RABV vaccinated humans. This suggests that conventional RABV vaccines also confer protection against the novel KBLV.

BackgroundFarm-level biosecurity provides the foundation for biosecurity along the entire production chain. Many risk management practices are constantly in place, regardless of whether there is a disease outbreak or not. Nonetheless, the farm-level costs of preventive biosecurity have rarely been assessed. We examined the costs incurred by preventive biosecurity for Finnish poultry farms.MethodsWe used a semi-structured phone interview and obtained results from 17 broiler producers and from 5 hatching egg producers, corresponding to about 10% of all producers in Finland.ResultsOur results indicate that the average cost of biosecurity is some 3.55 eurocent per bird for broiler producers (0.10 eurocent per bird per rearing day) and 75.7 eurocent per bird for hatching egg producers (0.27 eurocent per bird per rearing day). For a batch of 75,000 broilers, the total cost would be €2,700. The total costs per bird are dependent on the annual number of birds: the higher the number of birds, the lower the cost per bird. This impact is primarily due to decreasing labour costs rather than direct monetary costs. Larger farms seem to utilise less labour per bird for biosecurity actions. There are also differences relating to the processor with which the producer is associated, as well as to the gender of the producer, with female producers investing more in biosecurity. Bird density was found to be positively related to the labour costs of biosecurity. This suggests that when the bird density is higher, greater labour resources need to be invested in their health and welfare and hence disease prevention. The use of coccidiostats as a preventive measure to control coccidiosis was found to have the largest cost variance between the producers, contributing to the direct costs.ConclusionsThe redesign of cost-sharing in animal diseases is currently ongoing in the European Union. Before we can assert how the risk should be shared or resort to the 'polluter pays' principle, we need to understand how the costs are currently distributed. The ongoing study contributes towards understanding these issues. The next challenge is to link the costs of preventive biosecurity to the benefits thus acquired.

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Backyard poultry are regaining popularity in Europe and increased interest in the health and management of non-commercial farms has resulted. Furthermore, commercial poultry farm owners have become concerned about the risk represented by contagious avian diseases that nearby backyard poultry could transmit. Fifty-one voluntary backyard chicken farms were visited between October 2012 and January 2013. Blood samples and individual cloacal swabs were collected from 457 chickens. In 44 farms (86%), one or more of the tested chickens had antibodies against avian encephalomyelitis and chicken infectious anaemia viruses, 24 farms (47%) had chickens seropositive for infectious bronchitis virus, 10 farms (20%) had chickens seropositive for infectious bursal disease virus, six farms (12%) had chickens seropositive for infectious laryngotracheitis virus and two farms (5.4%) had chickens seropositive for avian influenza virus. No farms had chickens seropositive for Newcastle disease virus. Of the 51 farms, five (10%) had chickens positive for coronavirus reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. A phylogenetic analysis showed that all backyard chicken coronaviruses collected were QX type infectious bronchitis viruses. All chickens tested for avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were negative. To our knowledge, there is no evidence to date to suggest that these diseases would have been transmitted between commercial and non-commercial flocks.

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