While the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) does not consider the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) situation in Mexican poultry to be resolved, a May 10 report did reveal it was resolved in the country’s birds not classified as poultry.
The first case of HPAI in a wild bird in Mexico was confirmed on October 11, in which a wild common teal that showed no clinical signs was subjected to a routine sampling for HPAI, and that test proved positive.
Since that time, 255 cases of HPAI were confirmed, including 242 deaths. The most significant of those cases reported involved a 40-hectare premises which was the site of the breeding of songbirds and ornamental birds.
In its latest report, WOAH stated: “The last outbreak of HPAI of subtype H5N1 was on January 3, 2024. Therefore, it has been more than 28 days since the last detection of outbreaks in wildlife, and this animal health event is considered resolved (Article 10.4.6 of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code). Local poultry farmers have been urged to reinforce the biosecurity measures on their farms and backyards and to immediately notify the health authority of any anomaly observed in their animals. The active epidemiological surveillance program is being maintained in technified production units, backyards, federally inspected slaughterhouses and municipal slaughterhouses as well as the monitoring of wild birds at national level.”
A separate WOAH report related to HPAI in poultry stated that the last case was confirmed on February 2 in a backyard flock in Juanacatlán. The last confirmed instance of HPAI in a commercial poultry operation was a flock of 54,000 laying hens in Cajame. In that case, confirmed on October 28, 2023, 33 birds died, while the remaining 53,967 chickens were depopulated.
During the 2022-24 HPAI outbreak, the presence of HPAI has been confirmed in 38 commercial poultry operations in Mexico, affecting 6,927,629 birds.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
