This Friday, the National Agency for Animal Health and Quality Services (Senacsa) held a press conference, attended by technical experts from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to detail the current status of the health emergency caused by avian influenza on the national territory superior.
The head of the agency, José Carlos Camperchioli, emphasized the order in which this emergency was handled, since all necessary requirements were met, and the order in which it was presented.
It is worth mentioning that on May 19 this year, the agency’s Boqueron Central Laboratory confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic bacteria in backyard birds in the Chaco region of Estigarribia and the provinces of Colonia Noylan Avian Influenza.
Faced with this situation, the national authorities immediately ordered specific health measures, activated the National Animal Health Emergency System (Sinaesa) and carried out epidemiological surveillance of the area.
Likewise, the Senacsa president commented that Paraguay was one of the first countries to provide compensation to producers who had to sacrifice animals due to the presence of the disease.
However, Campecchioli said it was necessary to work with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) because the number of wild birds sampled this time was still low, so it was necessary to reverse this fact because they might be the carriers of the virus in the country.
Likewise, the head of Senacsa commented that although the focus on the disease has ended, the country is still in a state of emergency for avian influenza. «Depending on the conditions, we can end the state of emergency until November 25. However, we will not do this and we will remain vigilant because there are still many cases in neighboring countries,” Campeccioli explained.
Finally, he mentioned that it is safe to eat poultry products such as meat and eggs, and that the status of “poultry as a country free of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses” has not been lost due to the epidemic. .
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On the other hand, USDA technician Fred Soltero highlighted some points that the country must improve in the face of such a health emergency, saying that Paraguay must prepare for the possibility of such an outbreak in the commercial and industrial areas of Asuncion Sexual preparedness is not the case in areas far from the capital.
He explained that this time they were “very lucky that the cases were more among wild birds,” so the actions taken were correct, but the results would have been different if the outbreak had been in central areas.
“It requires more preparation, it requires more laboratory capacity, which is very good,” he explains.
Likewise, he noted that private sector involvement in such emergencies is crucial, both in terms of finances and decision-making, and that the private sector should not be entirely dependent on the government.