Six states concentrate cases of avian influenza AH5N1 in Mexico

Sonora, Chiapas, Chihuahua, the State of Mexico, Jalisco and Yucatán are the states in whose commercial production units avian influenza is already concentrated AH5N1according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Derived from the fact that avian influenza has been detected in different parts of the planet and that its spread is due to the migratory flows of wild birds, the federal agency announced that, so far, the virus has been found in three backyard farms in Chiapas, Chihuahua and the State of Mexico, as well as in seven commercial farms, four located in Sonora, two in Jalisco and recently one in Yucatán.

Meanwhile, although an infected commercial farm was located in Nuevo León, its internal quarantine was already withdrawn, after verifying that the virus had not spread in the region. Precisely, 2,311 samples of birds were collected in the farms, which were analyzed in the official laboratories of Senasica and no new infections were detected.

“To demonstrate that the virus did not leave the affected farm in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, technicians from the United States-Mexico Commission for the Prevention of Foot-and-Mouth Disease and other Exotic Animal Diseases from the National Service of Health, Safety and Food Quality (Senasica) carried out 89 official investigations in 12 municipalities of Nuevo León: Allende, Apodaca, Ciénega de Flores, Doctor Arroyo, Galeana, General Zuazua, Linares, Los Ramones, Mier y Noriega, Montemorelos, Salinas Victoria and Vallecillo”, the authority deepened. .

The virus in Nuevo León was detected last October on a commercial position farm in Montemorelos, with a population of 60,000 birdsfrom there internal quarantine was declared.

In Baja California, Aguascalientes and the State of Mexico, infected foci corresponding to wild birds were detected.

In total, throughout the country there are 1.4 million affected birds, which represents 0.07% of the national flock; For the moment, this does not mean any risk to the national supply of eggs and chicken in the country.

As a measure of attention, the vaccination of birds has already begun in the commercial units of these states, as well as in areas of high animal health risk and in farms where there are progenitor and reproductive hens.

In the first stage of the vaccination strategy, Senasica and the National Poultry Union (UNA) plan to inoculate more than 6 million birds from production units in Jalisco, Sonora and Nuevo León.

Within the plan, it has been established as a priority to protect parent and reproductive hens, since they are the origin of the production chain, they are the mothers of broiler chickens and those that lay eggs.

Subsequently, animals from organic chicken and egg production units, zoo birds, management units for the conservation of wildlife and combat birds may be vaccinated, as long as the biological is applied.

“The vaccination strategy is complementary to the control and eradication actions carried out by the technicians of the United States-Mexico Commission for the Prevention of Foot-and-Mouth Disease and other Exotic Animal Diseases (CPA) of Senasica”, the Secretary of Federal Agriculture and Rural Development.

without affectations

In this regard, El Economista consulted the government of Yucatan who ruled out that the presence of the avian influenza virus could represent any risk.

“This situation will not have any effect or cause any problem in the matter of supply and sufficiency of both live birds, as well as products and by-products derived from them, as well as it will not have an impact on price increases since the sufficiency of this type is guaranteed. of products in the state”, stressed the state authority.

He also specified that the Yucatecan population is not at risk from the consumption of this poultry meat, since the spread of this virus occurs only with the live animal and not already processed.

“As part of this coordinated work, the state government will apply sanitary provisions such as the depopulation of birds (…) rigorous cleaning and disinfection of the facilities; a total definitive quarantine will be applied to the production units that are in the risk zone, ”he stressed.