A Review of the Stability of Avian Influenza Virus in Materials from Poultry Farms.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) is widespread among poultry and wild waterfowl. The severity of the disease is variable and the highly pathogenic form can rapidly kill numerous avian species. Understanding the stability of AIV infectivity in different substrates in the environment of poultry facilities is critical to developing processes to effectively decontaminate or safely dispose of potentially contaminated material. This review aims to compile the current information on the stability of AIV in materials from poultry farms that cannot be disinfected with chemicals or fumigants: water, litter/bedding, soil, feed, feathers, carcasses/meat, manure/feces, and eggs. There are still important gaps in the data, but available data will inform risk assessments, biosecurity, and procedures to dispose of potentially contaminated material. Among the parameters and conditions reported, temperature is a nearly universal factor where, regardless of substrate, the virus will inactivate faster under a given set of conditions as the temperature increases, and freeze-thaw cycles can facilitate virus inactivation.