Poultry producers are concerned about the slow response to an avian flu outbreak in the estuary.
More than ten days have passed since news of the dead birds being found at the mouth of the Portoviejo River was made public, but little action has been taken, said Hernan Macias, leader of the Poultry Farmers Association. Jinnabi.
Macias questioned whether the body of the dead bird had not yet been cremated.
“If Agrocalidad has confirmed the disease in samples taken from dead birds since last week, we don’t understand why this has not been done yet,” he said.
The leader also expressed regret that Environmental Control did not pay attention to complaints from residents in the area weeks before the problem became public.
Macias said another concern for the department was what they found to be a lack of resources and experience within the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (Maate), the entity responsible for environmental protection.
“Be careful, what happened to Sierra Leone will happen to us,” Macias warned.
they meet
Last Friday, poultry producers met with Agrocalidad, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), Maate and Portoviejo municipal authorities to develop an action plan and respond to the outbreak of avian influenza.
There, Macias assured, poultry farmers pledged to fund the costs of monitoring the presence of migratory birds in areas with disease outbreaks.
Members of Parliament will be responsible for conducting information campaigns so that residents in the area can be vaccinated against the virus.
Macias commented that poultry producers proposed to declare a quarantine in the sector, a request that was analyzed by the authorities present at the meeting.
According to the Mat Regional Administration, they have been activated and conducting patrols in the area.
Also ensure that they have professionals in place to initiate action plans and guidelines in the event of unusual events (mortality and morbidity) in wildlife.
“The Ecuadorian Navy and other entities will join these operations to provide technical support in the area,” it said, adding that they were informing residents of the area about the agreement.