Brazil confirms first Newcastle disease case in 18 years
Officials at Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry have confirmed an outbreak of Newcastle disease at a commercial poultry farm in Anta Gorda, a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, the country’s southernmost state.
The government said the farm was immediately quarantined once the case was under investigation. “A complementary investigation will also be carried out within a 10-kilometer radius around the outbreak area, in addition to other necessary measures as per the epidemiological assessment,” the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
Newcastle disease is a highly contagious and often severe disease found worldwide that affects birds, including domestic poultry, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. The last confirmed cases in Brazil were recorded in 2006 in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, and Rio Grande do Sul.
Control measures include strict isolation or quarantine of outbreaks and the destruction of all infected and exposed birds.
The outbreak could severely impact Brazil’s poultry industry, as many countries may ban products from Rio Grande do Sul, the country’s third-largest poultry exporter, which accounts for almost 15 percent of shipments.
The animal protein industry in Rio Grande do Sul was already reeling from floods that hit the state in May. Multiple meat-processing plants were unable to process inputs or transport workers. Industry data estimates that poultry exports from Rio Grande do Sul dropped by 4.7 percent in the first half of this year.
Following the diagnosis, share prices of meat companies crashed on Thursday. By 2:55 pm, BRF shares were down by 7.13 percent, while Marfrig (-11.32%), JBS (-2.5%), and Minerva (-3.62%) are also experiencing significant declines.
So far, however, Brazilian commercial poultry farms have managed to dodge avian influenza, simply called bird flu, which is ravaging farms worldwide.
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