Avian influenza H5N8 outbreak in Norfolk

On December 5th, Livetec were called to a commercial turkey facility in Norfolk, The facility which was home to 29,000 birds, had received confirmation that AI was present on site and quickly spreading through the flock.  

The Livetec team mobilised to the site, arriving within 48 hours and quickly began to identify and apply the most suitable method of depopulation. For each circumstance, Livetec acts with the utmost levels of welfare and care, choosing the best method from our scientifically-backed on-farm depopulation operations and products. 

Within six days, the emergency depopulation was completed and closely followed by stringent disinfection and sanitisation throughout the infected poultry sheds, helping the farm to progress towards resuming normal operations. 

Throughout the entire outbreak, findings were compiled in order to determine the cause of the outbreak, along with the possible dates for the start of the outbreak. The report concluded that although indirect contact with wild birds was the likely source of infection, there was also a number of biosecurity failings. 

The rest of the findings identified that poor building maintenance allowed wildlife to enter the poultry sheds and there was little to no cleansing and disinfection practises in place to stop staff spreading the virus from the local wild bird population. 

Had this farm been biosecure, with the correct protocols in place, this outbreak could likely have been avoided. Using Livetec’s bespoke biosecurity strategies, premises can build resilience into their operations.