Map confirms bird flu in dead birds at Rio's Biopark

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) confirmed, in an official statement, this Friday 25 that guinea fowl and peacocks died in the Biopark of Rio de Janeiro, after being contaminated by bird flu .

The site, which is shared with other species, housed 16 guinea fowl, and most of the birds died from the disease, leaving only three remaining. One peacock also died, and another showed clinical signs.

“With the confirmation of bird flu, the animals were sacrificed as a sanitary measure to contain the spread of the virus,” says the MAPA note.

The case was registered on July 17, after the official veterinary service of the state of Rio de Janeiro, linked to the State Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Seapa-RJ), received an alert about sudden deaths of guinea fowl in the area.

On July 22, the Federal Laboratory of Agricultural Defense in Campinas, São Paulo, a reference in South America for diagnosing the virus, confirmed that it was the H5N1 subtype.

Visits to the Biopark have been temporarily suspended for risk assessment. The on-site technical team, comprised of veterinarians, biologists, and zootechnicians, continuously monitors the animals for early detection of clinical signs of the disease.

Cases of H5N1 virus transmission to humans are rare. However, if during this monitoring period one of these individuals presents any respiratory symptoms, a suspected human case report will be opened, and the individual will be advised to self-isolate at home.