Laboratory testing
All samples were transported to the Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) Wates laboratory and testing was carried out using real-time (RT) PCR to detect Influenza A viruses using primers and probes that had been validated previously (H Wibawa et al., 2017). Positive results were subsequently tested using specific primers and probes for the H5 sub-type (Heine et al., 2007), as well as the H9 sub-type. The latter, which represents LPAI viruses, was performed to investigate co-circulation of different AIV.