The Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development lifted the internal quarantine imposed on poultry farms in Sonora, after verifying that in the last 25 days there have been no more cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) AH5N1 in the entity.
The National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica) ordered the quarantine on October 27, after verifying the presence of the virus in two commercial farms in Cajeme, Sonora.
In addition to these findings, technicians from the General Directorate of Animal Health of the Agriculture agency detected the circulation of the virus in wild birds from Tototlán, Jalisco; Tuxpan, Veracruz, and Ensenada, Baja California.
In order to complement the zoosanitary actions carried out by producers to protect national poultry farming, such as reinforcing biosafety measures in poultry production units (UPA) and avoiding the mobilization of live birds, Senasica authorized emergency vaccination in strategic zones.
Agriculture will begin the first stage of vaccination in areas of high animal health risk and on farms where there are parent and reproductive hens, for which there is a bank of 36 million 111 thousand doses.
The health authority authorized emergency vaccination after completing diagnostic tests for the virus, with the aim of ensuring the effectiveness of the biological that will be used.
With strict scientific rigor, specialists from the three Senasica Animal Health Reference Centers isolated and characterized the current virus, to verify that the vaccine used during the 2022 migratory cycle is effective against the strain that entered the country this year.
With the objective of determining the degree of pathogenicity, technicians from the United States-Mexico Commission for the Prevention of Foot and Mouth Disease and other Exotic Animal Diseases (CPA) of Senasica performed the primary isolation of the AH5N1 virus in the high security laboratory. biological (BSL3), located in Palo Alto, Mexico City.
Likewise, samples of the virus were sent to the National Reference Center in Animal Parasitology and Analytical Technology (Cenapa) located in Jiutepec, Morelos, where they underwent sequencing tests with the purpose of comparing the genome of the current virus with that of the previous year.
Finally, at the National Center for Diagnostic Services in Animal Health (Cenasa), located in Tecmac, State of Mexico, specialist technicians immunized birds between 31 and 45 days of age with last year’s vaccines and 31 days later they exposed them to the new one. virus, a process known as challenge, in order to check if the biological is capable of protecting them.
This diagnostic process is essential for Senasica to certify and approve the 2023 strategic vaccination program, which, in addition, is supported by the analysis of the local epidemiology of the disease, in the different affected regions, as well as the availability of the vaccine. vaccine.
The avian influenza virus, like the one that produces human influenza, is one of the pathogens with the greatest potential for genetic changes, which means that year after year, when the migration season of wild birds from the north of the continent arrives, , the type and subtypes of viruses present must be characterized.
In the Sonora outbreak, which involved two production units, 144 thousand birds were slaughtered at the end of their production cycle, which represented less than 0.01 percent of the national flock and had no impact on the supply of chicken and eggs in the country. pass.
Senasica recalled that the main preventive practice against AH5N1 avian influenza is the application of strict biosafety measures in poultry farms, while vaccination is a complementary tool, which is effective only if it is applied correctly.
For this reason, I reiterated the call to producers and veterinary doctors to promptly notify any suspicion of the presence of the virus on farms, through the telephone number 800 751 2100, the Avise application, available for iOS and Android systems, or in the offices. of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Senasica or the Coordination of the CPA, located in all the states of the country.
2023-11-25 04:25:36
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