MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Exports of Brazilian poultry meat halted over sanitary concerns

Newcastle disease is highly transmissible among birds but does not affect humans

Brazilian authorities halted all shipments of poultry meat to China, Europe, and Argentina on Friday after a case of Newcastle disease was detected in the municipality of Anta Gorda in the State of Rio Grande do Sul.

“In line with international standards on trade in poultry and poultry products, the suspension of temporary certification is carried out by Brazil in order to ensure the transparency of the Brazilian official service to the importing countries of the products,” a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture read.

In the case of China, Argentina, and the European Union, the suspension applies to the entire national territory. It encompasses poultry meat, fresh poultry meat, and its derivatives, eggs, meat for animal feed, poultry raw material for therapeutic purposes, meat preparations, and untreated blood products. India, South Africa, and Mexico were also reached by the new restrictions.

In addition, all production within 50 kilometers of the outbreak cannot be exported to Canada, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and East Timor, it was explained. Meanwhile, heat-treated products, such as thermo-processed, cooked, and processed products bound for Argentina, South Africa, Chile, the European Union, and Uruguay, were not subject to any restriction, the authorities also pointed out.

Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said a chicken tested positive for Newcastle disease, which attacks the respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems. The collapse of a roof on a poultry house after a storm may have exposed the chicken to the virus, which can be found in the feces of infected wild birds, he also noted. “This appears to be an isolated case,” Favaro said. “There are no signs of sick animals in the area, let alone in the region.”

Newcastle disease is highly transmissible among birds but does not affect humans. It was last detected in poultry in Brazil in 2006.

Suspension rules are reviewed daily based on the ongoing negotiations with partner countries. Birds in Rio Grande do Sul were to be culled as a precaution, it was also announced. Rio Grande do Sul is the third largest exporter of chicken meat in Brazil. In the first six months of the year, 354,000 tons were exported.