Brazil Declares Animal Health Emergency To Fight Avian Flu

Brazil declares six-month animal health emergency after several cases of Avian Flu were found in wild birds.

Seven cases have been reported in Espirito Santo State, with another discovered in Rio de Janeiro State.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of chicken meat, with annual sales of nearly $10bn.

Authorities say the cases were found far away from Brazil’s main areas of production in the south of the country.

However, outbreaks in commercial flocks elsewhere have sometimes been observed to follow the discovery of Avian Flu cases in wild birds.

The finding of a case on a farm often triggers a cull of a large number of birds – and can sometimes prompt trade restrictions from other countries.

The health emergency has been declared across the whole country for the next 180 days as a precaution.

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Over the weekend, the Health Ministry said samples of 33 suspected cases of avian influenza in humans in Espirito Santo,

where Brazil confirmed the first cases in wild birds last week, came back negative for the H5N1 subtype.

Last year, five human bird flu cases were reported.

However, past human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have had a 53 percent mortality, according to the World Health Organization.

In April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said a 56-year-old woman in southern China died after testing positive for the avian influenza subtype H3N8,

marking the first human death from that strain of bird flu.