November 6, 2023

 

Mexico reports first H5N1 bird flu outbreak this season

 

Mexico has detected its first outbreak this season of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a farm, as confirmed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), a month after Mexico declared it was free of the disease, Investing.com reported.

 

The outbreak, detected in the north-western state of Sonora, resulted in the death of 15,000 laying hens from a flock of 90,000. Subsequently, the remaining birds were culled, as reported by WOAH, citing Mexican authorities.

 

In its report, WOAH said that the first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 of this season was reported in a poultry production unit in the municipality of Cajeme, Sonora.

 

Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture announced on Wednesday that a quarantine had been imposed to prevent further spread of the disease. The ministry also noted that another farm located three km away, housing 54,000 birds, had been affected, and disinfection procedures were underway.

 

Although Mexico is one of the top 10 largest chicken meat producers globally, it exports less than 1% of its chicken meat, according to the United States agency Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

 

Recent months have witnessed concentrated outbreaks of the virus in Russia, South Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, further raising concerns.

 

Last month, Mexican animal safety authorities had confirmed the first case of H5N1 avian influenza in a wild bird after earlier declaring the country's poultry farms free of the virus. To prevent the spread of H5N1, Mexico had initiated a substantial bird vaccination campaign in high-risk areas, including Sonora.

 

A statement from the Agricultural Ministry, issued last week when the virus was initially detected, mentioned that tests were underway to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine applied the previous year in countering the virus that emerged in 2023. A fresh vaccination strategy could be implemented at the beginning of the present month.

 

WOAH reported that Mexico's animal safety agency, Senascia, has urged local farmers to bolster biosecurity measures on their farms and to promptly report any anomalies observed in their animals to safeguard national poultry production.

 

-      Investing.com