Bird flu: Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela on alert

Peru on Thursday declared a health alert for the entire national territory for 180 days due to the occurrence of highly pathogenic bird flu.

According to the authorities, around 17,500 seabirds, mainly young pelicans, have died in the South American country in the past week.

In addition, more than 3,000 cormorants and gannets, among other species, have been reported dead along the Peruvian coast.

The outbreak also affects poultry and around 37,000 chickens and laying hens have already been culled.

In addition, cockfights and poultry markets planned for Christmas were banned. Surreal videos were posted in Lima, the Peruvian capital, as dying pelicans wandered the streets.

SEABIRDS AND SHOREBIRDS IN ECUADOR AND VENEZUELA ARE THREATENED BY AVIAN FLU OUTBREAKS

Venezuela on Friday declared a 90-day health alert in five coastal states in the north and north-east of the country overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

Gabriela Jiménez, Venezuelan Minister of Science and Technology, reported on “detection of the AH5N1 avian influenza virus in pelicans” in the state of Anzoátegui, in the city of Puerto Píritu (northeast).

This is the “first report of influenza type A subtype H5 that caused the state of alert” covering the states of Anzoátegui, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, La Guaira and Sucre. Ecuador, which on Wednesday declared a 90-day animal health emergency over the outbreak of bird flu, announced a plan to protect the Galapagos Islands’ wild birds.

Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the Galapagos Islands are home to a wide variety of wild birds, some of which are endemic, such as penguins, finches, albatrosses, cormorants and hawks.

These islands, named for the giant tortoises that live there, have 35 poultry farms that are monitored.

The first case of avian flu in Ecuador was detected a week ago in the province of Cotopaxi (Andean center), leading to the declaration of an emergency.

In order to contain the disease, the authorities ordered the slaughter of around 180,000 birds from the affected farms and banned the movement of birds, products and by-products of avian origin on the farms affected by the outbreak.

With information from latinapress

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