Argentina on Saturday (18/2) confirmed it had detected two new cases of avian flu in wild birds, three days after reporting the first finding of the disease in South America.
“We have detected a second case in two wild ducks found dead in Cordoba Province,” Argentina’s National Agricultural Quality and Health Service (SENASA) in the southern country said on Twitter.
Argentina, along with Uruguay – two important international agricultural producers – this week declared a sanitary emergency due to the first cases reported last Wednesday.
READ ALSO: Bird Flu Outbreak Kills 50.54 Million Poultry in the US
Officials in both countries say they are strengthening controls at the border and at home as a result of the ongoing problems.
Bird flu, which has spread worldwide, has become endemic for the first time in some wild birds transmitting the virus to poultry, experts say.
The virus has triggered import bans in several countries and pushed egg prices to record highs in several parts of the world.
Cases of bird flu have occurred in several countries in South America, including Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
However, Brazil, as the world’s largest exporter of chicken, has never reported such cases, although it has always been on high alert. [ah/ft]
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