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LATEST BRAZIL NEWCASTLE TESTS SHOW NO DISEASE
By Grace Fan (Dow Jones Newswires)
August 28, 2006
Sao Paulo -- The latest lab tests taken in the Brazilian town of Vila Real in southern Rio Grande do Sul state have come back without any traces of Newcastle, a contagious fowl disease, an Agricultural Ministry official said Monday.
An outbreak of Newcastle was confirmed on July 4. Sixteen chickens have thus far died of the disease. Unlike the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, however, Newcastle isn't considered a public health risk.
"We're going to release a technical note later today saying that lab samples do not show any trace of the disease within the 10-kilometer radius of where the outbreak took place," said Marcelo Mota, the national coordinator of bird health at the Agricultural Ministry's animal health department, in a phone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.
This is the fourth lab test conducted for Newcastle in Rio Grande do Sul, following results released two and a half weeks ago by the Agricultural Ministry that found inconclusive evidence for the disease, Mota said.
Despite the latest clean results, the government's investigation into the disease won't be completed for at least another three weeks, he added.
"The serological exams, which test blood, have been completed, and came back without a trace of the disease, but the viral exams will only be finished around Sept. 8," said Mota.
The examinations were performed on 50 birds raised on properties within a 10-kilometer radius of the outbreak.
If the next round of test results comes back absent of the virus, then 109 farms within the 10-kilometer radius will be once again allowed to breed and sell chickens freely.
Over 35 countries have fully or partially banned chicken exports from Rio Grande do Sul state, which is a major Brazilian poultry state. However, the ban isn't expected to have a major impact on Brazil's export flow, because most suspensions were imposed by nations that rarely buy Brazilian chicken, such as China, or were limited to the area around Vila Real.
In mid-August, the Agricultural Ministry also confirmed a case of Newcastle in a duck in the Amazonian port city of Manaus, while testing migratory birds for bird flu among other diseases. However, while Manaus is a major transit point for migratory birds, it isn't a major chicken producer or exporter.
Brazil is the world's leading chicken exporter.
Source
By Grace Fan (Dow Jones Newswires)
August 28, 2006
Sao Paulo -- The latest lab tests taken in the Brazilian town of Vila Real in southern Rio Grande do Sul state have come back without any traces of Newcastle, a contagious fowl disease, an Agricultural Ministry official said Monday.
An outbreak of Newcastle was confirmed on July 4. Sixteen chickens have thus far died of the disease. Unlike the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, however, Newcastle isn't considered a public health risk.
"We're going to release a technical note later today saying that lab samples do not show any trace of the disease within the 10-kilometer radius of where the outbreak took place," said Marcelo Mota, the national coordinator of bird health at the Agricultural Ministry's animal health department, in a phone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.
This is the fourth lab test conducted for Newcastle in Rio Grande do Sul, following results released two and a half weeks ago by the Agricultural Ministry that found inconclusive evidence for the disease, Mota said.
Despite the latest clean results, the government's investigation into the disease won't be completed for at least another three weeks, he added.
"The serological exams, which test blood, have been completed, and came back without a trace of the disease, but the viral exams will only be finished around Sept. 8," said Mota.
The examinations were performed on 50 birds raised on properties within a 10-kilometer radius of the outbreak.
If the next round of test results comes back absent of the virus, then 109 farms within the 10-kilometer radius will be once again allowed to breed and sell chickens freely.
Over 35 countries have fully or partially banned chicken exports from Rio Grande do Sul state, which is a major Brazilian poultry state. However, the ban isn't expected to have a major impact on Brazil's export flow, because most suspensions were imposed by nations that rarely buy Brazilian chicken, such as China, or were limited to the area around Vila Real.
In mid-August, the Agricultural Ministry also confirmed a case of Newcastle in a duck in the Amazonian port city of Manaus, while testing migratory birds for bird flu among other diseases. However, while Manaus is a major transit point for migratory birds, it isn't a major chicken producer or exporter.
Brazil is the world's leading chicken exporter.
Source