Brazil declares itself free of bird flu

Brazil declared itself free of the avian influenza virus last Wednesday (18), after no new outbreaks of the disease were detected on commercial poultry farms since the first case in May, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa).

In a statement, the ministry said it had officially notified the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) last Wednesday of the end of the so-called sanitary gap, as outlined by international protocols.

The first outbreak in Brazil affected a breeding farm in the south of the country last month, triggering trade bans that could now be reversed as the country regains its disease-free status.