Summary
This cross-sectional survey of live bird retail stalls in Lahore District, Pakistan identified three risk factors significantly associated with H9 avian influenza infection in chickens: mixed-source bird procurement (OR 2.28), housing birds outside cages (OR 3.10), and keeping non-broiler breeds (OR 6.27). The findings suggest that standardising sourcing practices, housing conditions, and breed selection could substantially reduce H9 infection risk in retail settings. The work contributes to understanding zoonotic influenza persistence in South Asian poultry supply chains.
UK applicability
Direct applicability to the UK is limited, as live bird retail stalls in the format studied do not operate in UK poultry supply chains, which are predominantly integrated and regulated under stricter biosecurity standards. However, the risk factor methodology may inform surveillance and control strategies in other settings with informal poultry retail sectors or small-scale producers.
Key measures
Prevalence odds ratios (OR) for H9 infection; detection of avian influenza matrix gene and H9 haemagglutinin gene by qRT-PCR; survey-weighted logistic regression analysis of 36 potential risk factors
Outcomes reported
The study identified three independent risk factors associated with H9 avian influenza virus infection in live bird retail stalls: sourcing birds from mixed sources, keeping birds outside cages, and keeping non-broiler chicken breeds. The prevalence of H9 infection was 10% (28 of 280 pooled samples) among birds sampled from retail stalls in Lahore District.
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