Abstract
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is considered as one of the most devastating poultry diseases. It is imperative to immediately report any known outbreaks to the World Organization for Animal Health. Early detection of infected birds is of paramount importance to control virus spread, thus minimizing the associated economic loss. In this study, thermal imaging camera devices were used to detect change in the maximum surface temperature (MST) of chickens (n = 5) and ducks (n = 2) as an early indicator of experimental HPAI infection. The MST of both chickens and ducks increased at least 24 h before the manifestation of clinical signs of HPAI infection, depending on the severity of the infection. The basal MST was recorded for broiler chickens housed under small pen and normal farm conditions without intentional infection. A threshold cutoff of MST was established based on the circadian rhythm of normal MST. This study suggests that thermal imaging of chickens and ducks is a promising tool to screen any potential HPAI-infected flock in order to expedite HPAI diagnosis.