Health authorities in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina are increasingly concerned over the appearance of hundreds of dead sea lions presumably killed by avian flu, it was reported.
The highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in brown skua populations on Bird Island, South Georgia – the first known cases in the Antarctic region, reported British Antarctic Survey, BAS.
Some 60 million ducks are to be vaccinated in France over the next year as the country embarks on a campaign to combat bird flu and put an end to mass culls, which cost the poultry industry millions every year.
Ecuadorian authorities have actuated contingency protocols after a new outbreak of avian influenza was confirmed in a commercial farm in the Andean province of Cotopaxi, the Agency for Regulation and Control of Animal and Plant Health (Agrocalidad) announced Sunday in Quito.
Brazilian authorities Tuesday confirmed the detection of the first case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI - H5N1) in a poultry bird in the municipality of Serra, in the State of Espírito Santo, but insisted commercial production remains safe. The South American country is the world's largest chicken exporter, with US$ 9.762 billion collected in 2022.
Due to avian flu, what used to be a vacation spot in northern Chile full of tourists sighting the marine fauna has become the ground where sanitary brigades look for dead birds likely killed by the deadly virus following the closure of the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, in the Coquimbo region.
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.
Argentine authorities Tuesday suspended poultry exports after the first case of avian flu was confirmed in the province of Río Negro. The South American country's poultry exports last year amounted to US$ 383 million, with China buying 75% of them. With 2.5 million tons of poultry meat produced annually, 10% are sold abroad.
Uruguay's Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries (MGAP) sought technical advice from Chile to handle the current bird flu crisis, it was reported Friday in Montevideo.
With poultry prices soaring (a dozen of eggs in California reached eight dollars, yes eight dollars and climbing) because of the intense culling of millions of chickens caused by the avian flu, no wonder then than poultry meat exports from Brazil during January reached 420.900 tons, up 20.6% compared to the same period of the previous year and a record for the month, claimed the ABPA (Brazilian Association of Animal Protein) this week.