The Mexican government has started phase two of its bird flu vaccination campaign in response to the country's H7N3 virus outbreak, which has so far resulted in the slaughter of nearly 11 million birds to prevent its spread.
Roughly 90 million doses of the vaccine will be used on poultry farms in the Los Altos region of the western state of Jalisco, where the virus was found. The first phase involved 88.3 million doses of the vaccine, according to the national food health, safety and quality service agency Senasica. Officials are also keeping 53 million doses of the vaccine and viral samples in reserve so production can be boosted if necessary.
Poultry distribution is expected to resume in August, with 5 million birds shipped monthly to the farms cleared by inspectors, said Senasica director Enrique Sanchez. Samples have been takes at 438 farms in the Los Altos region, and only 43 farms tested positive for H7N3. Additional tests conducted outside of Jalisco all came up negative, said officials.
