Brazil: Federal Gov’t Instructs States To Issue Animal Health Alert Over Bird Flu

In a move to prevent the spread of avian flu onto commercial poultry, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) has directed State governments to declare an animal health emergency, Agencia Brasil reported.

MAPA has advised states to declare a zoo-sanitary emergency, given the appearance of two cases of avian influenza in poultry in the country. The first case was in Espírito Santo, in the city of Serra, and the second, in Santa Catarina, on a small property in the municipality of Maracajá.

On Thursday, Minister Carlos Fávaro met with governors and representatives of the states and the Federal District, advising governments to declare a state of animal health emergency and reinforce containment actions and prevent the spread of the disease, especially for commercial birds.

In May, with the records of the first outbreaks of the disease in migratory birds this year, MAPA declared a state of animal health emergency nationwide through an ordinance published in the Official Gazette.

According to the ministry, for the measures to combat avian influenza to be effective, it is necessary that the states also adopt similar measures, reinforcing the alert even in places where there is no record of an outbreak of avian influenza. This is because the occurrence of a case in commercial poultry would affect the entire country.

The case of Santa Catarina led the Japanese government to suspend the purchase of live birds and poultry meat produced in the state. The second largest chicken exporter in the country, Santa Catarina was responsible for the sale of 545.5 thousand tons outside Brazil in the first half. Japan was the destination of 219.8 thousand tons, a number 8.5% higher than that registered in the same period last year.

MAPA will take advantage of a trade and business mission scheduled for next week to try to reverse the Japanese decision. A delegation of Minister Carlos Fávaro with meat exporters will attend meetings and seminars in South Korea and Japan.