Honduran Avian Flu Emergency Declared

(CTN News) – Honduran authorities have announced a 90-day nationwide health alert due to an outbreak of Avian Flu among pelicans in Tegucigalpa, the capital of the country.

It was also reported that 40,000 birds were also evaluated for the disease, and no obvious signs of the disease were detected in any of those birds.

The Honduran government also noted that the measure aimed at “controlling and eliminating the presence of Avian Flu in domestic and wild birds” could be extended in the future, depending on “epidemiological developments”, according to the government.

It has been reported that two outbreaks of Avian Flu (H5N1) have been detected in wild birds found dead on the seaside in Atlantida.

The number of cases reported to date has reached 98, with 93 of them being in Puerto Cortés and La Ceiba, and the other five in La Ceiba and La Ceiba, where they had to be culled because they were sick.

“During the 90 days of the declaration we will be alert for the presence of dead or sick pelicans and we ask that the population participate in this first phase in notifying us of any dead or sick pelicans,” Emergency Operations Officer Luis Florentino Martinez told reporters.

In addition to explaining that places at risk of avian flu have been fenced and the disease has not spread to domestic birds, Agriculture Secretary Laura Elena Suazo stated that the decree complied with international regulations while also pointing out that Mexico, Panama and Chile had also declared avian flu emergencies.

According to Josué Lemus, the Avian Flu Coordinator at the Epidemiology Department, boat tours had been organized as well as “visits to neighborhoods and colonies” to prevent influenza from spreading to domestic poultry.

Despite the low risk of backyard poultry populations contracting the disease, we will continue to work on the project until we have an analysis that confirms that the disease has been reduced; the risks for backyard poultry populations have been reduced, and no cases have been reported.

As part of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease, about 50 pelicans were culled last Wednesday.

What are the signs of avian flu?

In humans, avian influenza symptoms vary, depending on the virus strain. Symptoms range from a mild flu like illness, sometimes with conjunctivitis (red, sore, discharging eyes), diarrhoea and abdominal pain, to a severe respiratory illness with breathing difficulties and pneumonia. Human infections may be fatal.

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