MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay starts vaccinating poultry against avian flu

The situation “is still in the area of wildlife and backyard poultry, it has not entered into any production system,” Mattos said

Uruguayan authorities began vaccinating poultry against avian flu with immunizers from the United States, it was reported Tuesday in Montevideo. An additional batch of chemicals is due from Mexico shortly.

Vaccines against avian flu for hens are packaged in 225 vials of 4,000 doses each, frozen in nitrogen thermoses, and delivered to Livestock Ministry-licensed veterinarians to immunize laying and breeding birds.

Vaccination will be divided into several stages, the first 900,000 doses delivered to hatchery birds. Next week, some 8 million vaccines will be provided to inoculate breeding hens and egg layers.

So far, 10 outbreaks of avian flu have been detected in Uruguay, but none of them in commercial establishments, so the country maintains its sanitary status.

The Chamber of Poultry Processors suggested an advisory group of experts be created to study the impact of avian flu.

Deputy Livestock Minister Juan Ignacio Buffa explained that the decision to vaccinate was reached after a top-level technical group of ministers and outsiders analyzed the epidemiological situation in Uruguay and the production system. He also argued that vaccination is carried out under the best biosecurity conditions so that the disease does not enter the commercial circuit. He also ratified that there are no indications against consuming poultry products.

Minister Fernando Mattos underlined that the situation “is still in the area of wildlife and backyard poultry, it has not entered into any production system.”