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Mexico begins vaccinations of 10 million birds to combat flu outbreak
Story Date: 7/30/2012
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Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 7/27/12
Agricultural officials in Mexico this week began innoculating an estimated 10 million chickens and hens in an effort to limit the effects of a bird flu outbreak that was first detected in June and has resulted in the deaths of five million birds so far.
The battle against H7N3 — a highly contagious form of bird flu — has already prompted the Mexican government to declare a national animal emergency earlier this month as inspectors visited as many of Mexico's poultry farms as they could in order to assess the scope of the outbreak. In its first month, the situation has cost the Mexican poultry industry an estimated $50 million.
Mexican Presiden Felipe Calderon plans to enlist a variety of laboratories to produce 80 million vaccinations to regain control over the spread of the outbreak, which was uncovered in more than 30 of the 253 poultry farms in the state of Jalisco alone.
Unlike H1N1, H7N3 is not as easily transmittable to humans, although it has caused a limited number of human outbreaks. A global outbreak of H1N1 in 2009 killed an estimated 17,000 people, sparking a vigorous monitoring of the spread of bird flu.
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