Avian flu: the Government announced aid measures and more controls to prevent it from reaching production and consumption

Today’s meeting between Massa, Bahillo and Senasa officials

The Government ordered new measures to stop the spread of bird flu in the country. On the one hand, a Prevention and Control Plan was launched through which the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa) will maximize sanitary control at border crossings and the national territory to reinforce the prevention mechanisms of the commercial circuit. On the other hand, an investment of close to $1,000 million will be made with the purpose of reinforcing Senasa, through the incorporation of personnel, laboratory supplies, logistics, equipment, and infrastructure strengthening for border posts.

Avian flu in Argentina: Senasa extreme vigilance to prevent the spread of the disease

The Vice President of the health agency, Rodolfo Acerbi, provided details on the prevention work that has been carried out to prevent the disease from reaching commercial farms. Today there will be a meeting led by the Minister of Economy

The new measures were agreed this afternoon during a meeting led by the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, with the Secretary of Agriculture, Juan José Bahillo; the president of Senasa, Diana Guillén; and the vice president of Senasa, Rodolfo Acerbi. It must be remembered that control and preventive actions are carried out through coordinated work with the national Ministries of Safety and Health, National Parks, provincial and municipal governments, the productive sector and veterinary colleges.

“We put the entire system on high alert. There is still no impact on production and much less on consumption,” said Massa and announced measures for the sector. “There is no risk for the population or for exports,” remarked the minister and affirmed that more than $1,000 million will be invested, among other things to compensate producers and add more personnel, infrastructure and logistics.

The Government ordered new measures to stop the spread of bird flu

It seeks to carry out a coordinated sanitary barrier program in the next four months to continue supplying the external and international markets. Poultry production generates exports for Argentina for more than USD 350 million annually.

Avian flu: the Government assures that the current situation does not affect production and exports

This was stated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Senasa. The officials highlighted the importance of preventive tasks and biosecurity in chicken farms

During the meeting this afternoon, the officials agreed that as long as the avian flu is found in wild and backyard birds, Argentina will be able to preserve the sanitary status and the normal flow of exports. “That is why the National Government reinforces the action plan to prevent the disease from entering the commercial circuit,” they said.

To all this, the Secretary of Agriculture, Juan José Bahillo, announced that to the five cases of avian flu that have been detected so far in the country, three more will be added today. “This, although paradoxical, is good news. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we have the disease and we are not detecting and diagnosing it. Based on the diagnosis and detection, it allows us to proceed quickly to prevent it from entering the productive sectors and bring peace of mind to families and consumers, that the disease is not transmitted by the consumption of meat or eggs,” said the official. .

Summit in the Government before the advance of the avian flu: more measures will be analyzed to deepen the controls

The meeting will take place this Tuesday and will be chaired by the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa. Authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture and Senasa will participate

In addition, he specified that in the coming days there will be meetings with the business chambers to review the different actions that were implemented to deal with the disease, and to define a common agenda, to bring peace of mind to producers and consumers. He also maintained that compensation will be implemented for the replacement of affected birds, such as wild or backyard birds or for family consumption, and that they are slaughtered.

The new package of measures is added to those announced by the Government last week when it was confirmed in the first case of bird flu and then with the declaration by Senasa of a health emergency, through Resolution 147/2023. Among the provisions are: raking of the areas of outbreaks in wild birds and backyards to identify other sick birds; reinforcement of controls and epidemiological surveillance actions at border posts, at all border crossings, with Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay; vehicle disinfection, passenger control.

Sergio Massa and Juan José Bahillo

In addition, the mobilization of agents specialized in birds and emergency management from other agencies or regional centers of Senasa was announced, to the offices located on the borders; continuity in awareness campaigns for early notification; awareness, training and recommendations for efforts in biosecurity measures on commercial farms; and articulation together with other public entities in the surveillance and control of the movement of birds, products and by-products of birds.

During the announcements of the measures by the officials, the president of Senasa, Diana Guillén, stated that “the most important thing we want to emphasize is that success is in detecting the affected birds as quickly as possible, so that we can proceed with the control measures that must be carried out when affected birds appear in an outbreak. It is a hand-to-hand fight. We are trying to identify where the disease is, and the truth is that the community and all the organizations that work with us and that have a territorial distribution, are notifying us where dead animals appear or some strange symptomatology in the animal”.

On the other hand, Guillén recommended to the population, “not to catch animals that are dead or with strange symptoms. The disease is not spread unless a sick animal is handled, therefore what must be done immediately is notify Senasa and we will remove the animals with security measures and proceed to carry out the tests to confirm if it is influenza or for some other reason. what has caused the death of those animals”.

During the presentation of the officials on the new measures, the Vice President of Senasa, Rodolfo Acerbi, reiterated that currently the three scenarios Argentina faces with avian flu are “wildlife, domestic and breeding birds for self-consumption, and a third stage that is the commercial of laying hens, eggs and broilers. It is a disease transmitted by wild birds, therefore we cannot underestimate it and it is very severe with birds. That is why any dying or dead bird is a strong suspicion and if we can work on this first scenario we have gained a lot of ground.”

It was also reported from the Ministry of Economy, that in the event of a detected case of bird flu, surveys of the facilities and conditions of the areas or establishment where the animals were found are carried out, and a perimeter is delimited around of the place of the focus to rake and verify possible dead birds or with symptoms compatible with the disease.

Officials of Agriculture, Senasa, and the Ministries of Health and Safety, at the time of announcing last week the first case of avian flu in Argentina

In turn, neighbors, owners of the establishments, or environmental authorities of the provinces are consulted, who made the notifications in the event of suspicions of mortality or symptoms in birds; establishment of control posts to prevent the entry and exit of sick animals or personnel who have recently handled them.

Finally, it was pointed out that in the case of backyard birds “the property is interdicted and the birds that had been in the place where the mortality and positive samples were determined are sanitary slaughtered.”

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