Chile culls 40,000 poultry amid industrial bird flu outbreak
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[March 16, 2023]
RANCAGUA, Chile (Reuters) - Around 40,000 poultry were culled and
buried in central Chile on Wednesday after the country detected its
first case of bird flu in an industrial setting.
Carlos Orellana, head of livestock protection for Chile's farming and
livestock SAG agency, said it was a "limited event" and authorities
haven't detected more cases in the surrounding area.
"It's a very limited event, our surveillance in the peripheral region
keeps giving us negative results," Orellana said during a press
conference in Santiago, adding that the culled birds represent a small
fraction of the country's 30 million poultry.
"We hope to have this situation contained and that Chile regains its
status of being free of highly pathogenic bird flu," he added.
The outbreak was detected on Monday in a plant belonging to meat
producer Agrosuper, in Rancagua in central Chile, leading the government
to suspend chicken exports for a 28-day period.
Cases of bird flu, mostly in wild animals, have been detected in Chile
since late last year. Argentina confirmed its first case in industrial
poultry last month, causing it to suspend avian product exports.
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![](../images/031623PIX/health92.jpg)
A backhoe carries dead chickens to a pit
at a poultry farm after Chilean authorities confirmed the country's
first outbreak of avian flu in poultry, in Rancagua, Chile March 15,
2023. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/16/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_Buickencore_011323.jpg) Brazil, the world's largest chicken
exporter, still remains free of bird flu but has investigated
several suspected cases. South American health authorities created a
regional technical committee earlier this month to deal with bird
flu outbreaks.
Ximena Aguilera, Chile's health minister, said that while the
country has seen cases in marine mammals, there has been no
human-to-human transmission but the ministry is closely following
workers and people who have been exposed to bird flu.
(Reporting by Reuters TV and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Aurora
Ellis)
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