:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/6U42ZZQ7EVB6ZI3IGH5KOE2ORI.jpg "Avian flu: the government assures that the current situation does not affect production and exports 1")
For the first time in history, a case of avian influenza (H5N1) has been reported in Argentina. It was in Jujuy. As noted, the case was confirmed by the Health and Food Quality Service (Senasa) in a wild migratory bird, called biguá, which was found in the Laguna de Pozuelos, northwest of the mentioned province. For this reason, authorities have declared a health emergency in the country.
Concern on the ground over suspected bird flu cases in Jujuy and Uruguay
Today from 3 p.m. a press conference will be held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, to announce the preventive measures that have been adopted.
So far, our country has been free from the above-mentioned disease, which has caused high mortality rate in poultry production in other countries. Today, at a press conference, the Secretary of Agriculture, Juan Jose Bahillo, maintained that the detected case “puts us on alert, but it does not surprise us. For some time we have been working to prevent this virus, which is unfortunately out of control due to the migration of birds”.
Faced with this, the manager clarified that bird flu is not transmitted to humans through the consumption of chicken meat and eggs. “There is no risk in taking both products.” Additionally, Senasa officials clarified at this afternoon’s press conference that “exports of poultry meat products will continue to operate normally”since until now the transmission of the disease is done by wild birds.
On top of all this, in the poultry sector, uncertainty is growing due to the existence of the risk of disease transfer to the commercial system, such as chicken and egg production. “This is very bad news, because of the consequences this can have in terms of bird mortality and production losses, but now is the time to bring peace of mind to producers and the general population, because at the moment it is an isolated case in wild birds and we are with the systems activated to mitigate the transfer to the commercial backyards. Senasa works very well, with international protocols, professionalism and commitment. Producers will work side by side with the authorities, collaborating to redouble prevention and control measures in all productive establishments in the country and we are in constant communication on the situation,” he said. Javier PridaPresident of the Argentine Chamber of Poultry Producers (CAPIA).
Ombudsman’s Office warns of insufficient measures to control the spread of avian flu
The entity considered it important to extend the health emergency and widen its scope to other spices in order to reduce the risk of contagion to humans.
Moreover, Senasa Vice President Rodolfo Acerbi said that “we do not underestimate the risk and we do the corresponding analysis. In the problem area, we studied up to a diameter of 3 and 10 kilometers. Since last year, we have mapped all commercial farms. In these exclusion zones, when there is activity, we do 3 and 10 kilometres, and then we bleed, we exclude movement, we are more attentive, we concentrate the people who are in this zone so that they can’t go anywhere else. These are preventive measures. Today we went from a provisional alert to a strong alert. we are more concerned about the outbreak in Maldonado, Uruguay, due to its proximity to Entre Ríos”.
strictly productive and economicalConsidering that the poultry industry exports 20% of what it produces, Acerbi recalled that different public bodies have worked on prevention in collaboration with the private sector, where a provisional alert was declared last year. In 2021, he said, there were 12 suspected cases of bird flu and in the first half of last year that number rose to 80 cases. An exercise was also carried out in the town of Esperanza, Santa Fe.Today we have the disease in wild birds, which is normally expected. The same thing happened in Chile and we are working to sign it, and be attentive with the national parks to see if it appears elsewhere,” the official said.
Analyze a suspected case of avian flu in Jujuy and the government will announce preventive measures
A bird of the biguá species appeared as a possible case in a rural area in the north of the country. Senasa analyzes the samples to determine if it is the H5N1 virus
In countries where the disease has been detected in poultry production, for Acerbi “the losses are significant and the elimination of the disease in the commercial field is ugly, that is to say the elimination of sick birds and of their contacts. And then there’s a stage where it can’t be repopulated, so the farmer who has a productive cycle stops having a population for at least 120 days, and then comes the production and fattening process. There is a significant economic impact of almost 6 to 7 months of lost profits, job losses, among other consequences. It is a difficult disease. We don’t have vaccines and it’s pure prevention. This is why we insist on the usefulness of biosecurity measures.”
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