Dozens of chickens deployed to the front line of bloodborne virus detection

Bitten up to 1000 times a day, chooks develop antibodies which are an early warning system for potential outbreaks

An uptick in mosquito-borne viruses including Japanese encephalitis has meant reloading a longstanding weapon in the public health arsenal — chickens.

The NSW Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program was hatched in the 1970s and initially based in four local government sites: Leeton, Griffith, Hay and Deniliquin in western NSW.

But it has been boosted in response to the increasing threat of mosquito-borne disease in the NSW Riverina, Southern Tablelands and along the Murray River.

There are now seven sites, each with 15 chickens, who are usually tested from October through to late April.

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