Best Practices for Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

You can take advantage of Vetstoria's extensive feature set to help you manage the current bird flu restrictions that are in place in the UK. The tools, thoughts, and suggestions listed below can support your clinic at this time.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Adding a disclaimer 

• Using appointment types to manage the bookings 

• Excluding species from appointment types 

• Adding a new appointment type for species  

• Adding an appointment screening message  

• Adding/removing species     

Adding a disclaimer

You can include a disclaimer informing pet owners about how your clinic will handle birds during this period. When a pet owner selects an appointment type or at the beginning of the booking process, the disclaimer can be modified to appear. Below is an illustration of what such a disclaimer would look like in a Vetstoria booking interface.

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) - This is a notifiable and Zoonotic disease 

Housing measures to protect poultry and capitve birds from Avian Influenza are in force across England. It is now a mandatory requirement to house your birds and practice strict biosecurity. Read more: https://www.gov.uk/birdflu

The clinical signs of AI in birds can include any or a combination of the following:

•  sudden and rapid increase in the number of birds found dead
•  several birds affected in the same shed or air space
•  swollen head
•  closed and excessively watery eyes
•  lethargy and depression
•  recumbency and unresponsiveness
•  incoordination and loss of balance
•  head and body tremoring
•  drooping of the wings and/or dragging of legs
•  twisting of the head and neck
•  swelling and blue discolouration of comb, wattles and/or legs
•  haemorrhages on shanks of the legs and under the skin of the neck
•  loss of appetite or marked decrease in feed consumption
•  sudden increase or decrease in water consumption
•  respiratory distress such as gaping (mouth breathing), nasal snicking (coughing sound), sneezing, gurgling or rattling
•  fever or noticeable increase in body temperature
•  discoloured or loose watery droppings
•  cessation or marked reduction in egg production

Clinical signs can vary according to species of bird, age of bird (for domestic waterfowl), individual immunity and concurrent disease; some species (eg ducks and geese) may show minimal or even vague clinical signs such as mild breathing problems and reduction of egg production but affected birds will not always show clear signs of infection.

Keepers of birds must keep a close watch on their birds for any signs of disease and seek prompt advice from a vet if they have any concerns. Avian influenza is a notifiable disease. Clinical signs indicative of avian influenza must be reported - this is a legal requirement:

•  In England contact APHA via Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301.
•  In Wales, contact APHA on 0300 303 8268.
•  In Scotland, contact the local APHA Field Services Office.
•  In Northern Ireland contact the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or your local DAERA Direct Regional Office.

Failure to report cases is an offence.

Visiting the clinic with your feathered-friend:

Please call the clinic on your arrival, {{telephone_number}}, and remain outside and in your vehicle with your pet and the Vet will come out to you.

Please note, all birds will be treated with appropriate caution and biosecurity, including initial examination and triage outside the practice, appropriate PPE will be worn by our team.

More information on how to set up disclaimers can be found here

Using appointment types to manage the bookings

Appointment types in Vetstoria is a highly configurable feature. You have the ability to restrict appointments per species, client type or even by the clinician. The following are some tips on how you can leverage the customization options available to manage seeing birds in the clinic at this time.

Excluding species from appointment types

You have the option of excluding birds from being seen for each of the appointment types. 

Adding a new appointment type for species

You can add an appointment type specifically for birds only to be seen. This allows you to add a custom message to this appointment type which will be included in the confirmation email.

Adding an appointment screening message

To notify the pet owner of the limits in place, what they should do when they arrive for their appointment, and where they can obtain more information, you could utilise the appointment screening informative message.

More information on how you can manage your appointment screenings can be found here

Adding/removing species

You can prevent birds from being scheduled for an online appointment by removing them from the list of species.

If you have any questions or if you need further help, please login to Vetstoria to chat with our team or use the Contact Support form linked at the top of this page.