A systematic approach to illuminate a new hot spot of avian influenza
circulation in South Vietnam
Abstract
In South Vietnam, live bird markets (LBMs) are key in the value chain of
poultry products and spread of avian influenza virus (AIV) although they
may not be the sole factor to determine avian influenza (AI) prevalence
in the southern part. Therefore, a risk analysis of AIV spread was
conducted by including all possible value chain factors. A
cross-sectional study was performed in backyard farms, high-biosecurity
farms (bio-farms), LBMs, and poultry delivery stations (PDSs) in the
four districts of Vinh Long Province in December 2016 and August 2017. A
total of 3 597 swab samples were collected from individual poultry at
101 backyard farms, 50 bio-farms, 58 sellers in LBMs, and 17 traders in
PDSs and then investigated for AIV isolation. Concurrently, information
related to participants and birds was collected and used to identify the
fixed and random effects of factors in AIV infection. A total of 274
birds were positive for virus isolation, with a prevalence of 7.6%
(95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.8–8.5) at the individual poultry
level, and the adjusted prevalence based on the sampling weight was
7.9% (95% CI: 7.6–8.2). The significantly higher prevalence in PDSs
(20.7%) and LBMs (14.2%) compared to backyard farms (3.0%) and
bio-farms (0.6%) suggested that PDSs are another hot spot for AIV
circulation. The high diversity in the seller and trader population
characteristics was revealed using multiple-correspondence analysis to
analyze the participants’ demographic factors in LBM and PDS. The
mixed-effect logistic regression model revealed that keeping duck at the
sampling time and the owner’s older age should be risk factors of AIV
infection in PDS. Therefore, functional AI control efforts to monitor
the PDS system should be emphasized to minimize AIV circulation risk in
Vietnam.