Last weekend, Senasica, the Mexican animal health authority, reported the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 of the season in a commercial layer farm in Cajeme, Sonora.
“Quarantine of the affected farm was declared and the state of Sonora is in internal quarantine, which implies it is necessary to present a PCR test to move birds from poultry farms out of the state, demonstrating the absence of the disease,” as stated in the official release. In this 90,000-layer farm, 15,000 birds were already euthanized.
I was thinking what the meaning of this report is. If I am not wrong, this is the first case reported since the end of winter last March. As we approach the cold season – particularly in the northern part of the country – this is not news. It is expected. Migratory wild birds from Canada and the U.S. come south. As a matter of fact, just 40 meters away from the farm, an irrigation canal with those migratory birds was spotted. Voilá! There you go!
Now, Sonora was an HPAI-free state, so now vaccination is on the way. Authorities plan to start vaccinating in early November, particularly focused on high-risk areas, as well as grandparent and breeder stock, essential for both broiler and layer production.
Important to highlight is how much Mexico has evolved with the use of inactivated vaccines, all made in the country. Experience has shown, as was the case in the Yucatán not long ago, that the vaccination strategy works. In fact, the Yucatán is doing well now. Mexico is getting so good at vaccinating, that for instance, producers are carrying out now a prophylactic molt in layers. When egg production decreases, layers are molted, production goes down and the virus vanishes.
So, the meaning of this recent outbreak is that the world keeps spinning, no one in the country is panicking, surveillance continues as well as palliative care measures, and Mexico keeps on acquiring experience and producing eggs and chicken.
There is one more aspect to consider: global warming. This was a particularly dry summer, and many bodies of water are depleted. So migratory birds might change their routes.
What do you think?
