Avian flu, migratory birds and poultry health

Avian influenza is considered an exotic disease in Brazil. A study carried out around the Amador Aguiar I and II Hydroelectric Power Stations in the municipalities of Uberlândia, Araguari and Indianópolis made it possible to identify four species of migratory birds from North America. Another study carried out in the rural area of the municipality of Uberlândia revealed that the majority of rural producers keep chickens and hens on a subsistence basis, without the technologies to guarantee the health safety of their flocks. The complex formed by the occurrence of migratory birds with the potential to be contaminated by the Avian Influenza virus, contact with subsistence birds without biosecurity measures and the proximity to industrial farms exposes a risk of transmission that should be considered, with economic and public health impacts.