Brazil sets up sanitary barriers to contain bird flu

The government of Rio Grande do Sul has begun setting up seven sanitary barriers to contain an avian influenza outbreak in the municipality of Montenegro, where the presence of the highly pathogenic virus was confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock last Friday (May 16).

By early Saturday evening (17), five of the seven barriers outlined in the containment plan had already been installed.

“The goal is to inspect all live-load vehicles—those transporting feed or collecting milk—which circulate among multiple rural properties. Within a three-kilometer radius, enger cars will also be disinfected. Pedestrians are not the focus of this operation,” the government said in a statement.

The barriers will operate 24 hours a day in coordination with the Military Brigade’s Environmental Patrol (Patram) and the municipal government. Sanitary control points have been set up within a three- to ten-kilometer radius of the outbreak site.

The state government also announced that approximately 540 rural properties within a ten-kilometer radius of the outbreak will be inspected for assessment and health education purposes.

In a statement, Montenegro municipal authorities emphasized that the risk of human infection from avian flu is very low and, in most cases, affects caretakers or professionals with intense with the animals.

“These individuals are under monitoring and have not exhibited any symptoms of the disease,” the statement said.