Argentina reports new cases of bird flu in its territory

[February 20, 2023]  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina confirmed on Saturday two new cases of bird flu detected in wild birds, three days after reporting the first findings of the disease in the South American region.

"We have detected a second case in two wild ducks found dead in the province of Cordoba," the Argentine National Service of Health and Agrifood Quality (SENASA) of the southern country said on Twitter.

Argentina, along with Uruguay - two important international agricultural producers - this week declared a state of sanitary emergency due to the first cases reported last Wednesday.

Officials in both countries said they reinforced controls at borders and internally as a result of the ongoing problem.

Avian flu, which has reached new corners of the globe, has become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, experts said.

The virus has spurred import bans in some countries and pushed egg prices to record highs in some parts of the world.

Several countries in South America, including Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, have already found cases of bird flu in their territory.

Brazil, the world's biggest chicken exporter, has never reported a case but is on alert.

(Reporting by Jorge Otaola)

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