A new case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a commercial egg laying flock in Argentina.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) reported the country’s latest case was confirmed in a farm in General Racedo Entre Rios. The presence of HPAI was detected on May 28, when routine surveillance was being conducted within a 3-kilomteter zone around an earlier premises where HPAI had been detected. Shortly after testing was being conducted, mortalities within the flock were being observed.
Samples for the flock tested positive for an H5 variant of HPAI.
In this case, 2,000 bird deaths were reported, while the remaining 15,000 laying hens in the flock were depopulated and the process of disposing of the carcasses, byproducts and waste was conducted.
To date, according to the WOAH, Argentina has lost nearly 1.94 million birds to HPAI in 2023.
More avian influenza in Paraguay
While Paraguay has not had any cases of HPAI in commercial poultry, WOAH reported another case in backyard poultry in the country.
In this latest case, in La Patria, 37 birds in a backyard flock had died. Testing was conducted and the presence of HPAI was confirmed. The remaining 167 birds on the premises were depopulated.
HPAI was first detected in Paraguay on May 17, and since that time, the country has lost 751 birds to the virus.
Avian flu situation in Cuba resolved
WOAH reported that all control and cleanup measures have been conducted following Cuba’s only confirmed outbreak of HPAI and considered the situation resolved.
In February, WOAH reported that the virus had affected birds at the Jardín Zoológico de La Habana, a zoo in Cuba’s capital city of Havana.
