Peruvian authorities have culled at least 37,000 birds on a chicken farm due to bird flu, officials said Thursday.
After previously affecting wildlife in several areas nationwide, this outbreak took place at a farm in Huacho, north of Lima, the national agricultural health agency SENASA said Thursday.
"They have all been slaughtered; this infectious focus has already ended on a small farm in Huacho (north of Lima), with a population of approximately 37,000 birds," said Jorge Mantilla, head of SENASA's disease control, quoted by state news agency Andina.
Killing infected birds is part of the protocol to control avian flu outbreaks.
"The aim is to prevent the disease, which is highly lethal in birds, from spreading to other locations," said veterinarian Mantilla.
Some 14,000 seabirds, mostly pelicans, have died from bird flu in the country in recent weeks.
In addition to the slaughter of the poultry in Huacho, another cull took place in the city of Lambayeque, in northern Peru, where some 700 birds were slaughtered to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Peruvian Poultry Association ruled out that the outbreak puts "the consumption of birds and eggs" in the country at risk.
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