Brazil extends state of animal health emergency over bird flu

Brasilia, November 7 (EFE) – Brazil, the world’s largest chicken exporter, has extended its territory-wide “animal health emergency” for 180 days due to avian influenza, official sources reported on Tuesday.

Based on the detection of cases of “wild birds” infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus disclosed in the government gazette, the government decided to extend the measures implemented on May 22.

According to the latest data from the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the first case of avian influenza was detected in the country on May 15. So far, 136 “wild animal” outbreaks and 3 outbreaks of household edible birds have been detected.

About 550 sea lions also died last month from suspected bird flu in different parts of the Rio Grande do Sul state’s coast, which borders Argentina and Uruguay and where outbreaks of the virus have also been recorded.

Local health authorities confirmed that three of them died from the disease.

The remaining cases were not analyzed because, under government guidance, it was not necessary to examine animals of the same species where the presence of the pathogen had been confirmed.

Avian influenza is a global epidemic that has circulated over the years and caused serious disruption to international poultry product trade in recent months.Effie

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