LA PAZ, Bolivia ( Associated Press) — Bolivian health officials said Monday that thousands of birds had been culled after an outbreak of bird flu was detected on farms in two cities in the central region of Cochabamba, prompting the declaration of an outbreak over the weekend. was forced to Health emergency for 120 days.
“The birds have been removed for their subsequent sanitary burial and for cleaning and disinfection,” Javier Suarez, executive director of the National Agricultural Health and Food Safety Service, told Bolivian TV.
Suarez did not specify the number of birds killed, but his office reported a day earlier that 142,200 chickens were being considered for eradication and nearby farms were raking.
Suarez said the outbreak occurred on farms in the towns of Sacaba and Quilacolo in Cochabamba, east of La Paz. He said it is believed that the outbreak is due to the migration of birds that occurs at the beginning of the year. “Quilacolo has already been resolved but we are on the campaign trail,” he said.
The Minister of Rural Development and Lands, Rémy Gonzales, explained that an outbreak of H5 avian influenza was detected in those areas of the country on January 25 following the death of farm birds.
Meanwhile, Ivan Carrion, vice president of the departmental union of poultry farmers, asked the population not to be alarmed, as the disease was predicted according to what he assured. He said that countries like Ecuador, Peru, Argentina have also reported avian influenza.
But his poultry colleagues have called an emergency meeting to stop the spread. The Central Region of Cochabamba is one of the most important regions in chicken production in Bolivia.
