It is a Black-necked swan in San José, the eighth focus since the first case was registered. The virus is already spreading in six departments.
He Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) confirmed a new case of bird flu in Uruguay, the eighth since the first case was registered in the country. For the wallet holder, Fernando Mattos, the virus is an “epidemiological threat”.
The extreme drought has not yet been completely overcome, but the agricultural sector and, particularly, the poultry sector, must fight against a new problem that is slowly but surely advancing throughout the territory: the Avian Influenza H1N5.
On this occasion, the MGAP together with the Ministry of Environment (MA) detected a case in the town of Pennine Beach, in Saint Joseph. In that area of Silver City, close to Beach Pascual and in a nature reserve, there was the death of a Black Neck swan. After the corresponding analyses, the bird tested positive for bird flu.
This is already the eighth focus since the emergence of the first cases in Garzon Lagoon, also in specimens of Black-necked swans. And it is the sixth department that registers the presence of the virus: Cannelloni, Flowers, Maldonado, Montevideo, Tacuarembó and now San Jose.
In five of these outbreaks, the affected birds were wild, while in the other three, they were backyard birds.
Vaccination and new measures
Last week, the government announced the imminent start of 100% vaccination of laying and breeding hens in poultry farms, to try to avoid a strong impact on the production system, in case the virus enters the pens.
The MGAP has already opened the call for bids 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 at a growing risk of affecting the productive system,” admitted Minister Mattos during the announcement.
The official recalled that the vaccine, however, is not 100% effective and once again urged producers to take extreme biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, on Monday at 2:00 p.m. there will be a new meeting of the Departmental Emergency Coordination Center (Cecoed) to assess the situation and determine, eventually, additional measures to those already arranged.
The authorities reiterated that the virus is circulating and that is why the MGAP and MA call for extreme care and take the indicated measures to prevent the spread of outbreaks.
Source: Ambito
