The National Service of Health and Agri-Food Quality (Senasa), from Argentina, confirmed another case of avian influenza in the country, on Wednesday (22).

It is a wild bird found dead in the town of Zapala, in the province of Neuquén.

In all, there are already 9 cases of avian influenza confirmed so far in the country: 5 in the province of Córdoba, 1 in Salta, 1 in Santa Fe, 1 in Jujuy and 1 in Neuquén.

According to the government, another 100 suspected cases are analyzed.

Senasa says it is working on health and screening actions in the regions where the infected birds were found.

The agency also says it has tightened border controls due to the occurrence of a case of avian influenza in Uruguay.

On Wednesday, the agency called on the production sector to strengthen management, hygiene and biosafety measures for its farms and immediately notify any detection of clinical signs of nervous, digestive or respiratory, decrease in egg production, water or food consumption and high mortality in poultry or wild birds.

Avian influenza in South America

In addition to Uruguay and Argentina, which have seen cases in wild birds that appear dead in national parks in recent days, there are records of the disease in Peru, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.

In Brazil, the largest exporter of birds in the world, for now, there are no recorded cases of the disease.

In view of the advance of the disease in the middle of South America, the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of São Paulo (Faesp) reinforces the request for rural producers in the state - and throughout the country - to reinforce prevention measures in order to avoid occurrences related to avian influenza virus.

In this sense, the entity reinforces that, in the face of suspected cases, it is necessary to notify the responsible authorities.

In the state of São Paulo, for example, the federation warns that the Coordination of Agricultural Defense (CDA) is available to receive these alerts by phone 19-3045-3350.

In addition, the Faesp team informs that, at the national level, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) has the e-Sisbravet platform for registrations.

President of Faesp, Fábio de Salles Meirelles reinforces that, at least on São Paulo soil, the work against avian influenza goes beyond the support of the CDA and the Map. He warns that he has already the help of rural unions and the press so that the state and Brazil as a whole will be free of the disease that is already spreading to eight other South American countries. In addition to Uruguay and Argentina, the virus has been detected in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

"Maintaining Brazil's sanitary status as free from disease is a responsibility to be shared by society as a whole" — Fábio de Salles Meirelles

"We ask rural unions to give wide dissemination of the guidelines provided to local media, social media, and to post the poster in public places of great circulation of people," says Salles Meirelles. "The campaign must also reach the urban population, because maintaining Brazil's health status as free of disease is a responsibility to be shared by society as a whole," he continues.

Understanding that the occurrence of a single outbreak of avian influenza in Brazil "would be a disastrous event" and with the potential to "cause serious economic and social consequences to the aviculture and other production chains", faesp's management developed and began to promote a poster with the aim of raising awareness, especially, of rural producers and commercial avian workers. The campaign, according to the entity, is also aimed at those responsible for domestic farms of less scale or subsistence, in addition to wild and exotic bird breeders.

The material provided by Faesp (see the art below) reinforces the main measures of prevention and surveillance against avian influenza. The poster also shows how such actions should be adopted on a day-to-day life by rural producers.

Source: Canal Rural