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Health Emergency Declared in Uruguay Over Bird Flu Outbreak
(MENAFN) Uruguay declared a nationwide health emergency Friday after highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza was detected in backyard poultry, officials said.
The Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry, acting through its General Directorate of Livestock Services, confirmed the outbreak in Colonia, a southwestern department, after unusual bird deaths raised initial concern. An early rapid test came back negative, but subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed the virus's presence.
Authorities ordered a nationwide "interdiction of the affected establishment" along with strict limits on the movement of non-commercial birds. The emergency measure blocks all domestic movement of backyard and free-range birds, with an exemption for those registered under the official Poultry Monitoring System. The resolution also suspends fairs, auctions and public exhibitions involving avian species, and requires that free-range and backyard poultry be confined to "enclosed, covered facilities" to prevent contact with wild birds.
Health workers have begun culling and safely disposing of all exposed birds at the affected site, alongside thorough cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated materials. The ministry urged poultry producers to adopt "extreme" biosecurity measures, including restricting entry to unauthorized people or vehicles, shielding food and water sources from wild birds, and tightening disinfection protocols.
Officials stressed that eating poultry meat or eggs poses no risk to human health, though agricultural teams are working with health authorities to monitor individuals who may have been exposed. Avian influenza A(H5N1) is a highly pathogenic subtype that mainly infects birds but can, in rare cases, spread to humans through close contact; it carries a high fatality rate in people, though no sustained human-to-human transmission has been documented. The public has been urged not to handle dead or sick birds.
The Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry, acting through its General Directorate of Livestock Services, confirmed the outbreak in Colonia, a southwestern department, after unusual bird deaths raised initial concern. An early rapid test came back negative, but subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed the virus's presence.
Authorities ordered a nationwide "interdiction of the affected establishment" along with strict limits on the movement of non-commercial birds. The emergency measure blocks all domestic movement of backyard and free-range birds, with an exemption for those registered under the official Poultry Monitoring System. The resolution also suspends fairs, auctions and public exhibitions involving avian species, and requires that free-range and backyard poultry be confined to "enclosed, covered facilities" to prevent contact with wild birds.
Health workers have begun culling and safely disposing of all exposed birds at the affected site, alongside thorough cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated materials. The ministry urged poultry producers to adopt "extreme" biosecurity measures, including restricting entry to unauthorized people or vehicles, shielding food and water sources from wild birds, and tightening disinfection protocols.
Officials stressed that eating poultry meat or eggs poses no risk to human health, though agricultural teams are working with health authorities to monitor individuals who may have been exposed. Avian influenza A(H5N1) is a highly pathogenic subtype that mainly infects birds but can, in rare cases, spread to humans through close contact; it carries a high fatality rate in people, though no sustained human-to-human transmission has been documented. The public has been urged not to handle dead or sick birds.
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