São Paulo – Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock reported on Sunday evening (18) that all measures outlined in the Avian Flu Contingency Plan are being efficiently carried out. Last week, the country confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at a breeder poultry farm in the city of Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul state. As a result, Brazil’s government has suspended poultry meat exports from the state, with no set date for resumption.
The ministry, poultry companies, and national pork and poultry group ABPA had already been implementing preventive measures against avian flu, which has been emerging in several other poultry-producing countries since 2006, and they quickly mobilized to contain the disease once the outbreak was detected. This was the first time HPAI had been confirmed in a commercial poultry farm in Brazil. Agriculture Minister Carlos Fávaro said Brazil was the last of the major poultry producers to report a case of contamination.
The ministry reported that a state of emergency was declared within a ten-kilometer radius around the outbreak in Montenegro, with accelerated inspections being carried out on properties in the area. At the facility where the disease was detected, all birds and eggs have already been culled, and cleaning and disinfection of the premises were underway on Sunday. Animal movement control barriers are also being set up in the region. Eggs originating from the affected farm have been traced and are being destroyed.
“Nonetheless, we emphasize that there is no evidence that these eggs are contaminated with the avian flu virus, and all necessary measures to protect national poultry farming are being taken, reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to society and to the productive sector,” the ministry’s statement said.
Last week, HPAI was also confirmed in swans and ducks at a zoo in Rio Grande do Sul. Within a three-kilometer radius of the affected property, only one suspected case is under investigation, in a subsistence farm. An investigation is also underway at a property in the state of Tocantins, but preliminary analysis of the samples revealed the presence of Influenza A, with a low probability of it being highly pathogenic. The ministry clarified that suspected case investigations are routine procedures in Agricultural Defense.
The ministry also reiterated that highly pathogenic avian influenza is not transmitted through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs. “The Brazilian and global population can remain confident in the safety of inspected products, with no restrictions on their consumption. The risk of human infection with the avian flu virus is low, and in most cases, occurs among handlers or professionals with close with infected birds (alive or dead),” the statement went on to say.
Producers
ABPA and Rio Grande do Sul state poultry association ASGAV said they are ing the ministry and the State Secretariat for Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production, and Irrigation (Seapi), and emphasized the full transparency shown by both institutions regarding the identification, communication, and containment of what they described as an isolated case. “All necessary measures to contain the situation were quickly adopted, and the situation is under control and being monitored by government agencies,” they reported.
Exports
The ministry reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and responsibility regarding the quality and safety of products exported by Brazil and said that export restrictions will strictly follow the sanitary agreements made with trading partners. Some countries have agreements with Brazil to suspend imports from the entire country in the event of a case like this, while others suspend only imports from the affected region or state, a practice known as regionalization for HPAI. Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have approved regionalization in their trade with Brazil.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
