Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Breeding Turkeys, Valparaiso, Chile

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Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010
Dispatch
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Breeding Turkeys, Valparaiso, Chile
Christian Mathieu, Valentina Moreno, Patricio Retamal, Alvaro Gonzalez, Alejandro Rivera, Jorge Fuller, Cecilia Jara, Claudio Lecocq, Miriam Rojas, Alfonso García, Marcela Vasquez, Michel Agredo, Cristian Gutiérrez, Hector Escobar, Rodrigo Fasce, Judith Mora, Julio García, Jorge Fernández, Claudio Ternicier, and Patricia Avalos
Author affiliations: Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero, Santiago, Chile (C. Mathieu, V. Moreno, A. Gonzalez, A. Rivera, J. Fuller, C. Jara, C. Lecocq, M. Rojas, A. García, M. Vasquez, M. Agredo, C. Gutiérrez, H. Escobar, C. Ternicier, P. Avalos); Universidad de Chile, Santiago (P. Retamal); and Instituto de Salud Pública, Santiago (R. Fasce, J. Mora, J. García, J. Fernández)

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Abstract
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus was detected in breeding turkeys on 2 farms in Valparaiso, Chile. Infection was associated with measurable declines in egg production and shell quality. Although the source of infection is not yet known, the outbreak was controlled, and the virus was eliminated from the birds.

Influenza A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus is a novel highly transmissible agent that contains a unique combination of gene segments from different swine lineages (1); it has circulated in humans since April 2009 (2). First detected in North America, the virus was disseminated worldwide in just a few weeks, prompting the World Health Organization to raise its global health alert to the pandemic stage (2,3).

By December 2009, a total of 14 countries had reported that the pandemic strain was infecting swine, generating concern about the role of other susceptible species in the viral epidemiology. Fortunately, only a mild respiratory disease developed in the ill swine, and outbreaks were controlled with biosafety measures, avoiding dissemination to humans and animals (4). In Chile, the first case of human infection with the pandemic strain was confirmed on May 17, 2009; infection increased within 6 months to a total of 12,276 cases, with 147 deaths (5).

On July 23, 2009, in the Valparaiso Region of Chile, 1 flock (A1) from a commercial turkey breeding farm (farm A) started to show a measurable decrease in egg production and shell quality (Figure 1). During the following 2 weeks, similar signs were observed in 3 other flocks (A2, A3, A4) at farm A and 2 flocks (B1 and B4) on another turkey breeding farm (farm B) 50 km away, both belonging to the same company. However, neither respiratory signs nor increased death rates were observed. Because an influenza virus was suspected, on August 13 the situation was reported to the Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) for diagnosis.

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Suggested Citation for this Article
Mathieu C, Moreno V, Retamal P, Gonzalez A, Rivera A, Fuller J, et al. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in breeding turkeys, Valparaiso, Chile. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Apr [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/4/709.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1604.091402