Even though there have been no cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at any of Uruguay’s commercial poultry flocks, health officials are not taking any chances and have begun vaccinating commercial birds against the virus.
The first stage of national vaccination delivered 900,000 doses to hatchery birds starting last week, and the second stage beginning this week will deliver 8 million vaccines to breeding hens and egg layers, according to MercoPress.
Avian flu impacting Uruguay’s backyard flocks
Three new outbreaks have joined the growing list of HPAI cases at backyard flocks in Uruguay, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
The most recent was reported on May 4 in Rocha after 15 hens were found dead. After the flock tested positive for HPAI, health officials culled the remaining 25 hens and five ducks and established an outbreak and surveillance zone to detect any other nearby cases.
A backyard flock in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, reported an HPAI outbreak on April 16 after 4 hens died. The remaining 69 birds were culled, and health officials set up the outbreak and surveillance zone – no other outbreaks were found in the area.
A larger backyard flock in San José – consisting of hens, roosters, guinea fowl, turkeys and geese – reported its outbreak on April 15. Twenty of the birds died of HPAI before the remaining 170 were culled. The surveillance zone found no other outbreaks around the location.
Uruguay’s wild birds hit by avian flu
In addition to backyard flocks, WOAH officials also reported an outbreak in wild geese and turkeys in a natural park in San Carlos, Maldonado on May 3. Two animals were found dead of HPAI, and the remaining 28 affected were culled.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
