SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Brazil’s agriculture ministry declared today an animal health emergency in the country’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul after a case of Newcastle disease was detected on a poultry farm.
Authorities are trying to contain an outbreak after around 7,000 birds perished on a small property where the disease was detected, representing half the flock.
The last confirmed cases of Newcastle disease in Brazil occurred in 2006 in subsistence birds in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul, according to the agriculture ministry. Subsistence birds meet a family’s need for food and are not kept for trade.
Newcastle is a viral disease that affects domestic and wild birds, causing respiratory problems and sometimes leading to death. Its notification is mandatory under guidelines from the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Outbreaks of Newcastle disease could trigger trade bans, according to Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Goldman Sachs analysts said Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended poultry imports from Rio Grande do Sul, while Japan will limit poultry import restrictions to a 50-kilometer (31-mile) radius from the outbreak.
The agriculture ministry did not reply to requests for comment on potential trade bans.
Meat lobby group ABPA declined to comment before a press conference scheduled for Friday afternoon on whether bans were imposed.
