More than 300,000 birds are reportedly infected with avian influenza following an outbreak of the disease in Ecuador’s Cotopaxi province three weeks ago, although the current situation is under control, according to Ecuador’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Asked about the actual number of infected birds after the outbreak, the director of the Agency for Regulation and Control of Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary (Agrocalidad), Patricio Almeida, has detailed that they estimate that more than 300,000 birds have been infected with the virus.
«We estimate that there will be a little more than 300,000 birds», said Almeida on Monday, emphasizing that despite the situation «there is no possibility of shortage», alluding to the fact that 180,000 birds have been slaughtered so far.
The news comes weeks after the Minister of Agriculture, Bernardo Manzano, stated that in order to face the outbreak «a sanitary emergency remains in force for 90 days, until the end of February 2023», assuring that it facilitates the work and intervention of hundreds of technicians who carry out controls and evaluation of samples throughout the country.
With this decision, the Ecuadorian authorities have decreed that, during the next 90 days, it will not be possible to move birds, products or derivatives of poultry origin -such as eggs, hens or chickens, among others- from the affected farms.
Minister Manzano has insisted that avian flu does not constitute a health risk for those citizens who eat eggs or chicken meat, a consumption that, he says, «is guaranteed».
The authorities declared the first case of avian flu last weekend in a farm in the province of Cotopaxi. After this, the authorities promoted a national security plan to contain the possible spread of the disease.
