Argentina halts Brazil poultry imports after bird flu outbreak
BUENOS AIRES, May 16 (Reuters) - Argentina's state sanitation agency Senasa on Friday ordered a suspension of imports of products and byproducts of avian origin from Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter that hours earlier confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a commercial poultry farm.
"After the confirmation from Brazilian authorities, Senasa requested the productive sector strengthen biosecurity measures in its establishments," the agency said in a statement, adding the measures would be in place until Brazil is certified as free of the bird flu.
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Rise Guyana Announces Final Close of $29 Million Real Estate and Infrastructure Fund
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Reuters
4 hours ago
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Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
RFK-backed ostrich farm fighting H5N1 cull boasted of turning birds into pet food
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Last year, the virus 'jumped' into the US cattle chain and since has become endemic. More than 1,000 dairy herds have been infected with the virus, and a fifth of the country's milk supply now contains detectable traces of H5N1. At least 70 people in the US, mostly poultry and dairy farm workers, have also caught the virus, one of whom has died. The virus's exponential spread comes at a time when the Trump administration has dramatically cut back on the government's response to H5N1. Just last week, the administration announced it had cancelled a $766 million contract with pharmaceutical giant Moderna for the mass-production of mRNA bird flu vaccines. The agreement was intended to strengthen the country's pandemic preparedness by diversifying its emergency H5N1 vaccine stocks. RFK Jr, a long-time vaccine sceptic, has repeatedly expressed concerns over the safety of mRNA vaccines despite them having saved millions of lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. President Trump has also cut funding to several departments at the US Department of Agriculture and Centre for Disease Control responsible for monitoring and containing the spread of H5N1. It makes RFK Jr's intervention into the Canadian ostriches' fate even more baffling. 'We believe significant scientific knowledge may be garnered from following the ostriches in a controlled environment,' Mr Kennedy wrote in a letter to the head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Experts say the scientific value of the ostriches is minimal, as similar studies have already been conducted in other parts of the world, and transporting any sickened birds would put people and other farms at risk. In a statement published over the weekend, the CFAI said: '[Our] response to highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry is based on an approach known as 'stamping-out', as defined by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). 'Stamping-out is the internationally recognised standard and is a primary tool to manage the spread of [H5N1] and mitigate risks to animal and human health as well as enable international trade.' 'Given that the flock has had multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1 and the ongoing serious risks for animal and human health, and trade, the CFIA continues planning for depopulation at the infected premises'. The Telegraph contacted Universal Ostrich Farms for comment.
