NewsDesk @bactiman63

The Ministry of Health and Sports asked the public today to remain calm and avoid falling into unfounded alarms since the chances of catching Avian influenza are minimal; however, and as a precaution, it announced epidemiological surveillance in regions where the disease occurred in birds.   

Image/Robert Herriman

“There is no reason to generate an unnecessary alert, we are going to strengthen the epidemiological surveillance system in general for influenza, working specifically with the people who work in poultry farming, for the moment there is no reason to declare  some type of emergency or to avoid the consumption of meat”, affirmed the Vice Minister of Promotion, Epidemiological Surveillance and Traditional Medicine, María Renee Castro.

After the detection of outbreaks of avian influenza in farms in Sacaba and Quillacollo in Cochabamba, the national government activated sanitary protocols in order to protect the population from any possible contagion, as well as guarantee the safety of the products that go on the market.

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The vice minister asked the population not to panic since in the world there is only data on three people infected by this disease and in the same way actions are coordinated with the National Service for Agricultural Health and Food Safety (Senasag), so that there is a strict control of the commercialization of chicken meat.

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He reported that in addition to the epidemiological surveillance, the Ministry of Health conducts training workshops for the personnel who work in these poultry farms so that they correctly use all the personal protection elements that are necessary for this type of event.

For his part, the Minister of Rural Development and Land, Reymi González, reported that more than 160,000 birds were removed and properly buried in the municipalities of Sacaba and Quillacollo, adding that the disease did not spread from that radius.     

Avian influenza is a disease of domestic and wild birds caused by the influenza A virus, the virus of the Influenza A group can infect birds and mammals. The most common way that the virus is introduced into a territory is through migratory wild birds.