Brazil confirms bird flu in major poultry state

The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply has updated the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds to 48 in the country. The first case of bird flu in Brazil was reported on 15 May.

The detection of the disease in wild birds in Parana (one of them was found in the city of Pontal do Paraná and the other in the municipality of Antonina) is another alarming signal, since the state is the country's largest producer and exporter of chicken MEAT. According to the ABPA (Brazilian Association of Animal Protein Producers), in 2022, the state accounted for 35.54% of production in Brazil. So far, only wild birds have been affected, and no cases have been reported in poultry from commercial farms, according to the ministry.  

On May 22, the Ministry of Agriculture declared a zoological emergency and measures were stepped up to prevent the spread of the disease to commercial herds.

On June 7, the federal government published an interim measure opening a 200 million reais emergency loan for actions to be taken by the ministry to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1).

Since there are no cases of avian influenza in commercial herds, Brazil remains free from avian influenza according to the World Organization for Animal HEALTH (WHO), and there are no restrictions on Brazilian chicken meat . Exports of Brazilian chicken meat continue to grow. In the cumulative result for the year (January-May), the total sales of the sector reached 2,183 million tons, which is 9.7% higher than in the first 5 months of 2022 (1,990 million tons). In revenue, cumulative shipments reached $4.281 billion , up 13.4% from January to May 2022 ($3,776 billion).