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The director of the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, Jarbas Barbosa, warned that the avian flu that affects South America compromises the supply of chicken meat in the region and that it would impact food security.
Latin America is facing an outbreak of bird flu that is hitting producers and workers in the sector, with thousands of birds killed or euthanized by the flu and a slowdown in the sector that worries governments.
“The covid-19 pandemic increased food insecurity and extreme poverty in South America, and we are concerned that avian flu is now creating a problem with chicken production in the region, which is one of the most accessible animal proteins “, commented Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO.
According to him, there are currently outbreaks of avian influenza in almost all the countries in the south of the continent and he asked the governments to maintain “good surveillance” of the problem.
“The risk now is that a person contracts the avian influenza virus while also being infected with human influenza, because there may be a genetic exchange between the two viruses and that they mutate into a new disease that is transmitted between people,” he warned.
Avian influenza arrived in the region since October last year with the first cases reported in Mexico and Colombia through migratory birds. Since then, governments and unions have battled to control the outbreaks, taking measures such as the confinement of entire farms or the sacrifice of species.
In Argentina, one of the most affected countries, exports of poultry products were cancelled. That country employs some 130,000 people directly and exports around 400 million dollars a year to destinations such as the European Union, China or Saudi Arabia. Although of the total production, only 3% is destined abroad, according to government data.
In Chile, bird flu caused an increase in the price of eggs and the death of thousands of birds.
Uruguay begins to vaccinate against bird flu
Uruguay began the first stage of vaccination against bird flu with the delivery of the first 900,000 doses to inoculate hatchery birds, according to the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, MGAP.
The vaccines will also reach laying and breeding hens. Uruguay hopes to vaccinate some five million chickens against bird flu. “We have made the final decision with the President of the Republic to take the step of vaccinating the categories of laying hens and all breeding hens,” explained the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Fernando Mattos.
Avian flu has traveled from north to south Latin America in recent months and experts affirm that there is little chance of contagion to humans by eating meat or eggs, although the region has already reported the first case of contagion in Chile, something unusual that the experts call for close monitoring to mitigate its impact.
with EFE
