The minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), fernando mattosannounced this Thursday that vaccination will be carried out to control outbreaks of bird flu in the country, a disease that he described as an “epidemiological threat.”
The announcement came hours after the government confirmed a new outbreak, the seventh in the country, this time in the city of Trinity, in Flowers. Last week, the president Luis Lacalle Pou stopped the slaughter of contraband exotic birds, a measure that had originally been taken to prevent risks of spreading avian influenza.
Mattos described today as “epidemiological threat” to bird flu and explained that, based on the recommendation of the vaccine committee, they will proceed to vaccinate laying and breeding hens in the first stage.
The Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries has already opened the call for tenders for the acquisition of 10 million doses, anticipating a double vaccination scheme. They are two types of vaccines, one inactivated and the other vector.
“We are with a growing risk of affectation of the productive system”, admitted Minister Mattos, who warned that several countries are taking the path of inoculation for what could have dose shortage against bird flu.
The official recalled that the vaccine, however, is not 100% effective and once again urged producers to maximize the biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
So far there are seven outbreaks detected in five departments: Canelones, Maldonado, Montevideo, Tacuarembó and Flores. In this last case, it was confirmed after the death of two different species of birds in the reserve Rodolfo Tálice to which were added the death of 3 more birds than those that are awaiting the results.
The appearance of bird flu in Uruguay occurred at a time when the government opened negotiations led by Mattos with China to export poultry meat to that Asian country. The Executive seeks to open new markets precisely because of the delicate situation of the sector at the local level.
Source: Ambito
