Measures to avoid contact between wild birds and poultry, duck and geese are being implemented and enforced. Still outbreaks keep on occurring as wild birds are very difficult to control. The next crucial step therefore is to limit the consequences of an outbreak and here biosecurity comes in first!

Poultry farmers everywhere are seeking reassurance that their usual disinfectants and biosecurity protocols are indeed effective enough. This implies:

• Proper cleaning and disinfection of clothing, footwear, equipment and vehicles before and after any activity in relation to the birds.
• Thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the poultry house at the end of a production cycle.
• Keeping fresh disinfectant solution at the right concentration at all points where people should use it, such as farm entrances and before entering a barn, storage room and so on.

As for the disinfectant of choice, independent testing by the respected Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibia & Fish at Giessen University (Germany) has shown that even 0.1 % concentration of Halamid® is able to reduce the avian flu virus loading by more than 6 log10 (99.9999 %).

Halamid®, particularly suited to poultry growing and widely used in this sector, also completely inactivates avian influenza A virus in the liquid phase at low and high levels of organic soiling, and at lower temperatures (10°C) as well as standard temperatures.

And how about the susceptibility of the various subtypes to Halamid®?

Different subtypes of avian flu have different numbers of haemagglutinin & neuramidinase proteins on the exterior (denoted by the H and N numbers) but they have the same fundamental structure and lipid envelope. The biocidal mode of action of Halamid is based on strong oxidative destruction of the whole virus structure and is therefore non-selective for small variations in composition. As such, the disinfection activity of Halamid® is comparable for every strain of avian flu.

Further information on Halamid® can be obtained from www.axcentive.com, by emailing [email protected] or by calling our sales office on +33 442 694 090.