Today's Edition
SAO PAULO (AP)
Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of poultry, confirmed Friday the country’s first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm.
The virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the country’s agriculture ministry said in a statement. It said a contingency plan has been implemented “not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector’s productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population.”
The ministry said it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil’s trade partners.
The agency said in a statement later Friday that China and the European Union have halted poultry imports from Brazil, following trade agreements.
Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of the disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from — for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak.
Brazil is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14% of global chicken meat production, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
