Calay News
Avian influenza has been spreading throughout Latin America since October 2022, affecting wild birds and poultry as well as sea lions, and is believed to have spread through migratory birds. So far, numerous countries, including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina, have detected sick animals. The disease has spread inexorably from north to south and west to east. The outbreak has caused thousands of birds to die or be culled, hundreds of farms to be quarantined, and exports to be cancelled. Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Paraguay remain under animal health alert and extreme vigilance.
The origin of the disease remains unknown, but it is believed that migratory birds, such as the Franklin’s gull, which migrates from the north of the continent, may have transmitted it. Argentina has suspended the export of poultry products since the first case was reported on a farm in early March, but the disease is not transmitted to humans through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs.
Mexico has confirmed outbreaks in 12 of the country’s 32 states and has implemented vaccines and quarantines to stop the spread of the disease. Ecuador has vaccinated more than 750,000 animals on some 35 farms and culled nearly 300,000 animals. Peru has declared a six-month health alert and has reported 63,000 dead birds and 3,487 sea lions that may have died from avian flu. Chile has reported the first case in poultry at a breeding center, while in Venezuela a health alert has been launched due to the appearance of the disease in poultry at a farm. The spread of the disease has caused a great deal of damage, and it is hoped that health authorities and poultry companies will work together to develop vaccines and other methods to mitigate its impact.
