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Quail Rearing Practices and Potential for Avian Influenza Virus Transmission, Bangladesh

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Abstract

In 2015, human influenza surveillance identified a human infection with A/H9N2 in Dhaka, Bangladesh with evidence of exposure to a sick quail. We conducted in-depth interviews with household quail caregivers, pet bird retail shop owners, and mobile vendors, key informant interviews with pet bird wholesale shop owners, one group discussion with pet bird retail shop workers and unstructured observations in households, pet bird wholesale and retail markets, and mobile bird vendor’s travelling areas to explore quail rearing and selling practices among households, mobile vendors, and retail pet bird and wholesale bird markets in Dhaka. Every day, quail were supplied from 23 districts to two wholesale markets, and then sold to households and restaurants directly, or through bird shops and mobile vendors. All respondents (67) reported keeping quail with other birds in cages, feeding quail, cleaning feeding pots, removing quail faeces, slaughtering sick quail, and discarding dead quail. Children played with quail and assisted in slaughtering of quail. Most respondents (94%) reported rinsing hands with water only after slaughtering and disposing of wastes and dead quail. No personal protective equipment was used during any activities. Frequent unprotected contact with quail and their by-products potentially increased the risk of cross-species avian influenza virus transmission. Avian influenza surveillance in retail pet bird and wholesale bird markets, mobile vendors, and households may identify cases promptly and reduce the risk of virus transmission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Diseases Division, ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    S. M. Murshid Hasan, Abu-Hena Mostofa Kamal, Mohammad Ariful Islam, Emily S. Gurley & Md. Saiful Islam

  2. Department of Society and Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

    S. M. Murshid Hasan

  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Katharine Sturm-Ramirez, James C. Kile & Erin D. Kennedy

  4. Department of Humanities, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Khulna, Bangladesh

    Abu-Hena Mostofa Kamal

  5. Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mahmudur Rahman

  6. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA

    Emily S. Gurley

  7. School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Md. Saiful Islam

  8. Research School of Population Health, ANU College of Health and Medicine, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Md. Saiful Islam

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  1. S. M. Murshid Hasan
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  2. Katharine Sturm-Ramirez
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Correspondence to S. M. Murshid Hasan.

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Hasan, S.M.M., Sturm-Ramirez, K., Kamal, AH.M. et al. Quail Rearing Practices and Potential for Avian Influenza Virus Transmission, Bangladesh. EcoHealth 20, 167–177 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01643-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01643-w

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