In less than five months, the second outbreak of bird flu on the island of Gorgona, Circumstances that killed at least 92 birdsLuisz Olmedo Martínez, director of the National Natural Park of Colombia, said.
Also read: (Gorgona alert: 650 pelicans die from bird flu; what happened?)
The new outbreak, which first occurred this year on February 20, has led to the temporary closure of the island, with tourist entry and transit banned from August 3, in line with safety protocols.
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“Outbreaks of avian influenza are recurrent in this ecosystem; however, we are concerned that they occur so frequently. We will learn the depth of a second outbreak in sampling conducted in the third week after that date. State of emergency Statement (August 3)”, Olmedo explained to EL TIEMPO.
The entity’s director detailed that the death of the Gorgona specimen was a warning sign, They want to control the situation so that the number of infections and deaths does not continue to increase.
In such ecosystems, outbreaks of avian influenza are frequent occurrences.However, we are concerned that they occur frequently
“The park has to be closed. Some colleagues in the community have asked us to partially close, but this is not possible with an epidemic vector. These are migratory birds, vectors present in the ecosystem, and you have to worry about all the necessary problems with the progress of the case” , the director added.
Also read: (Gorgona Island’s tourism as bird flu outbreak threatens)
Robinson Galindo Tarazona, Director of the Pacific Region of the National Natural Park of Colombia, said: It was revealed to this newspaper that the infected species was different from the one found in February.
“The first time they were pelicans, now we have different species, the blue-footed pelican and the white-breasted pelican,” Tarazzona said. According to experts, these migratory birds came from Ecuador.
It has not yet been calculated how long Gorgona will be closed because the severity of the outbreak must be assessed.
“In principle, the closure period is between seven and 15 weeks. It’s not a rule, but it’s a parameter,” said Luisz Olmedo.
Camilo Peña Castaneda
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