Avian Influenza Threatens Poultry Farms in Baldo Garda Region

The avian influenza also arrives in the Baldo Garda area. The news broke on Saturday morning that one of the five poultry farms in Cavaion Veronese has been found to have an outbreak of epizootic that is decimating the poultry population of the Verona province.

Reactions and veterinary measures

“This is the first case affecting our district; so far, we had been spared,” explains Alessandro Salvelli, head of the veterinary district of Caprino. “Now we are in a surveillance zone with serious protection measures. We are monitoring various farms to check for mortality rates higher than the usual daily average, which is about 3 percent.”

The avian influenza, in fact, has an incubation period of about 15 days and is not always immediately detectable through analysis of organic material. Antibodies against the disease only appear when it manifests.

Spread and epidemiological overview

“The area is infected, but the problem dates back a while,” says Giancarlo Sabaini, mayor of Cavaion. “From Salizzole, the disease spread to Pescantina, where it infected a farm. The owners are the same as those of the infected farm in Cavaion. Ten days ago, we issued a preventive culling ordinance, based on a proposal from the veterinary service in Villafranca. However, the owners produced documentation proving that the two farms were separate and requested the suspension of the ordinance, which we had to approve.”

Now, however, the issue emerges in all its seriousness. Fifteen thousand animals will be culled there, but other poultry farms in the area are also at risk.

Territorial involvement and regulations

The veterinary district of Caprino covers the lakeside from Malcesine to Peschiera and the inland areas up to Brentino Belluno. Poultry farms are mainly concentrated in Rivoli, Affi, Bardolino, Caprino, Lazise, and Peschiera.

“If there are no direct contacts, the regulation does not require culling,” says Ferdinando Sbizzera, head of the veterinary service of Ulss 22. “For now, we have the situation under control, meaning we are able to predict the evolution of the epizootic.”