About 40,000 poultry were culled and buried in central Chile on Wednesday after the country detected its first case of bird flu in an industrial setting.
Carlos Orellana, head of livestock protection for Chile’s agriculture and livestock agency SAG, said it was a “limited event” and authorities had not detected any other cases in the surrounding area.
“It is a very limited event, our surveillance in the peripheral region continues to give us negative results,” Orellana said during a news conference in Santiago, adding that the culled birds represent a small fraction of the country’s 30 million poultry.
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A backhoe loader carries dead chickens into a pit on a poultry farm March 15, 2023, after Chilean authorities confirmed the country’s first outbreak of bird flu. (REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado)
“We hope to contain this situation and that Chile regains its status of being free of highly pathogenic avian influenza,” he added.
The outbreak was detected on Monday at a plant belonging to meat producer Agrosuper, in Rancagua in central Chile, leading the government to suspend chicken exports for a period of 28 days.
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Cases of bird flu, mostly in wild animals, have been detected in Chile since late last year. Argentina confirmed its first case in industrial poultry last month, forcing it to suspend exports of poultry products.
Brazil, the world’s largest chicken exporter, still remains free of bird flu, but has investigated several suspected cases. South American health authorities created a regional technical committee earlier this month to deal with bird flu outbreaks.
Ximena Aguilera, Chile’s health minister, said while the country has seen cases in marine mammals, there hasn’t been any human-to-human transmission, but the ministry is closely following workers and people who have been exposed. to bird flu.
