Four million doses to counter avian influenza

The first phase of vaccination against avian influenza will begin in Ecuador in the next two months. The initial step will be the importation of four million doses.

Avian vaccination will take place in the next two months.

In this stage, more than two million birds will be vaccinated with a complete scheme. Established farms are located in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua and Pichincha. They are located in the focus and perifocus where the presence of this disease has been reported since November 2022.

The Technical Subcommittee of the National Poultry Commission recommended this task to the alliance of Macuna – Avimex companies, which was selected after presenting “the technical sheets of the vaccines that are available against avian influenza and that have been implemented in other countries where the disease exists”, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

For this, the Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad) made an open call on January 23, 2023.

“This is good news to jointly face this disease that affects poultry,” said the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Bernardo Manzano.

The private company will finance the vaccines, which must comply with the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health (OMSA). Meanwhile, the producers will have technical assistance and the accompaniment of Agrocalidad and the MAG.

It should be noted that since November 29, 2022, an animal health emergency was declared, for 90 days, through Ministerial Agreement No. 134.

According to the MAG, “the Subcommittee recommended the use of an inactivated recombinant vaccine, which has already been used in other countries such as Mexico, where the same strain of avian influenza detected and contained in Ecuador circulates.”

The executive director of Agrocalidad, Patricio Almeida, explained that the vaccine is biologically safe, so it does not constitute a risk to humans. By the way, it lowers the mortality rate from 80% to 40%. In any case, it does not prevent contagion to other farms.

According to the OMSA, avian influenza has been reported in countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and America. In this area it was detected in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

The MAG data maintains that “the poultry industry is the main supplier of animal protein for the Ecuadorian population. It produces 263 million chickens that represent 495 thousand tons of meat; produces 4,600 million table eggs; and in terms of animal protein consumption, an Ecuadorian inhabitant consumes 27.31 kilos per capita of poultry meat per year and 212 eggs per capita per year”.

This marks the importance in the economy since it is part of a chain that includes the production of hard corn, balanced feed elaboration and poultry production. This generates more than 300 thousand jobs.