Brazil confirms the first two cases of bird flu in the country

The Brazilian government today confirmed the first two cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1), known as bird flu, in two seabirds rescued off the coast of Espírito Santo state, in the southeastern part of the South American country.

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the birds, which are of the species Thalasseus acuflavidus, known as Cabot’s Tern or “trinta-réis-de-bando” in Brazil, were found in the city of Marataízes and a neighborhood of Vitória, the state capital.

These were the first cases of the disease recorded in Brazil.

The ministry and the sector entities ensure that the birds are not part of the production system, i.e., there was no contamination in the chicken and egg factories and no risk of affecting the domestic supply.

The food can be safely consumed.

Despite the cases, the agency stresses that the situation does not change the recognition of Brazil as a country free of avian influenza.

“It should be noted that the notification of HPAI virus infection in wild birds does not affect Brazil’s status as a country free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and the other member countries of the World Animal Organization (WFO) should not impose bans on international trade of Brazilian poultry products,” says a statement issued by the ministry.

After being collected, the birds were analyzed by a team from the Federal Laboratory of Agricultural Defense of São Paulo, a reference of the World Organization for Animal Health.

The unit confirmed the diagnosis, and the Brazilian government notified the international entity.

The Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, declared a state of alert with the objective of “increasing the mobilization of the private sector and the entire official veterinary service to increase national preparedness, increasing surveillance of the HPAI pandemic”, with the intensification of communication and prevention actions, especially among poultry farmers.

With information from Xinhua

News Brazil, English news Brazil, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza