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Chile's Agricultural Service (SAG) confirmed the detection of the first case of avian influenza in the private sector, corresponding to a poultry industrial unit located in the O'Higgins Region. After the finding, SAG activated the existing protocol that involves the slaughter of affected birds and isolation of the area, sanitary measures that aim to prevent the spread of the disease to other poultry farms.
The Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, specified that it is “a proven case on an Agrosuper campus in the western sector of the commune of Rancagua. The SAG carried out the control of the aforementioned area and immediately, in addition, in compliance with the strictest standards, the World Organization for Animal Health (OMSA) was informed and, therefore, the export of poultry meat was closed”, said the authority. .
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The measure, taken by SAG, translates into the self-suspension of the certification of exports of national poultry products, a decision communicated to OMSA and all its commercial partners.
In this regard, Carlos Orellana, head of the Livestock Protection Division at SAG, explained that the measure taken by the service is explained by the fact that “we are now seeing the impact of a commercial farm, we are talking about 40 thousand breeding birds. This plant is located in the sixth region and as a precaution we suspended our export certification”, he stated.
The national director(s) of SAG, Andrea Collao, said that “for almost 4 months, the Agricultural Service has been developing a health prevention strategy (…) In less than 24 hours, early detection was carried out, the which reflects that the system works and, therefore, we need to emphasize the biosecurity measures that establishments must have”, said Collao.
It is worth noting that SAG has been working closely with the private sector since raising the global alert about a highly pathogenic virus that arrived in the country via migratory birds from the northern hemisphere in December last year, activating an emergency campaign throughout the Chile. To date, there are 12 regions with positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild and domestic birds, with a total of 27 bird species affected.
Precisely from the industry, Juan Carlos Domínguez, president of Chile Carne, expressed that “given the protocols that the SAG had and the implementation, it was possible to warn in advance and, therefore, measures are already being taken to contain (…) in less than 30 In a few days we will be able to recover the status of a bird flu-free country that we have always had”, said the union representative.
During this 4-month period, SAG collected samples from more than 16,000 domestic birds, almost 4,000 industrial birds and almost 3,000 wild birds, in order to timely detect the presence of the virus and take the necessary measures to minimize its occurrence. its impact on the country.
Source: Notícias Agrícolas
