At least four Central American countries —Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama— have issued health alerts due to the confirmation of more cases of bird flu in domestic and wild birds. Nicaragua is one of the nations that has not yet reported infections, but is already implementing preventive measures, according to the Government.
The state spokeswoman and vice president, Rosario Murillo, announced next week will carry out a field simulation in Granada, where there are farms poultry. All the institutions that have to do with “food safety and security” will participate.
In this drill they will coordinate “the actions and activities to be implemented by all government institutions and the private sector, to prevent and mitigate the economic impact” in case of detecting cases of bird flu, said Murillo.
Last February, Costa Rica’s National Animal Health Service (Senasa) reported that Nicaragua had prohibited the export of poultry products from that country. A measure that Honduras also emulated. However, since March 7, exports resumed.
The decision was made after Costa Rica “recovered the status of absence of avian influenza in domestic birds, based on the provisions of the World Organization for Animal Health (OMSA), whose regulations indicate that a country or territory can recover its status 28 days after the completion of the cleaning and disinfection operations on the affected farm,” said Senasa in a release.
The Institute for Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA) of Nicaragua affirmed that since December 22, 2022 they have made more than 1,600 visits to chicken farms in the country as part of the surveillance that is carried out.
What is bird flu?
Avian influenza is an infectious disease that affects birds and is caused by a virus from the Orthomyxoviridae family. As described by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) there are two types: low pathogenicity that can cause a mild disease that goes unnoticed or without the presence of symptoms.
while the guy “highly pathogenic” (H5 and H7) cause severe disease in birds, which can spread rapidly and results in high mortality rates in different bird species. There are strains of this type that have the ability to infect humans.
In the last 20 years there have been records of 868 avian flu infections in humans and 457 deaths. In 2023, two cases of avian flu have already been reported: one occurred in a nine-year-old Ecuadorian girl, and an 11-year-old minor from Cambodia, who died from this cause in February.
“Since A(H5N1) first appeared in 1996, we have seen only rare and non-sustained transmissions to humans and between humans. But we cannot assume that it will continue to be so. We must prepare for any change in the status quo”, warned the director of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the end of February,
Transmission to humans occurs mainly by proximity to infected birds or by handling them. Symptoms range from mild to complications that can lead to death, details PAHO. Between these:
- Fever
- Cough
- severe pneumonia
- respiratory distress syndrome
- shock
The United States CDC they add that infected people may also report conjunctivitis, sore throat, runny nose, muscle pain, headache, fatigue and shortness of breath. As well as pictures of diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or seizures.
Risk factors for contagion from birds to humans include direct contact with infected species and also their consumption. It can also occur by:
- Having contact with the environment of infected animals
- Plucking or handling the carcass of infected poultry
- Prepare infected birds for consumption
At least 15 countries in the Americas with cases of bird flu
On January 11, 2023, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert about the detection of foci of avian influenza in ten countries of the Americas, since then they have increased. Cases are already known in: Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Panama was the first country in Central America to confirm cases of bird flu. The first occurred in December 2022 and since then they have added two more. Meanwhile, they have slaughtered more than 2,500 birds.
In January 2023, Costa Rica joined. According to local media reports, they have identified two sources of infection in the province of Limón (Caribbean) and another two in Puntarenas (Pacific). Three of these occurred in wild birds and one in domestic birds.
Honduras declared a health alert in January after confirming 123 cases of avian influenza in pelicans, of which 109 died. In Guatemala, the alarm also occurred after confirming contagion in this type of bird.
For its part, El Salvador declared this week a “national animal health alert for avian influenza” although no cases have been confirmed. As explained by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock This will allow “reinforcing preventive measures.”
