Mexico: More than 500,000 chickens exposed to bird flu in Guanajuato
Mexican agricultural officials are reporting that an bird flu, or avian influenza outbreak has exposed up to 582,000 chickens on seven farms in the Central Mexico State of Guanajuato, according to a SAGARPA news release Feb. 15 (machine translated).
Image/CIA
The release says technicians of high security laboratory of the National Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA), confirmed the presence of H7 avian influenza virus at the farms.
It is unclear if this number of birds will need to be culled to stop the outbreak.
The Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), Enrique Martinez y Martinez, also gave one million 911 thousand doses of influenza vaccine as a preventive measure to control the spread of the virus to surrounding farms.
In Mexico, the number of laying hens in production amounts to just over 137 million.
SENASICA reiterated that this virus is unique to the birds, so that there is no risk to humans, and urged poultry farmers in the area to notify timely and strengthen biosafety levels on their farms.
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Very interesting information.
Congratulations!