Three months after the confirmation of the first epidemic of avian influenza, the first phase of vaccination of birds against this virus begins, which from November 2022 to February 2023 affected 1,193,491 birds on farms in the five provinces of the Sierra region, most of which are devoted to egg production.

According to the Agency for Phyto-Zoosanitary Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad), 15 bird flu outbreaks have been detected to date, with a total of 20 farms: 9 in Cotopaxi, 7 in Tungurahua, 2 in Bolívar and Pichincha and Azuay with a farm in each province.

From November 2022 to February this year, 15 outbreaks of bird flu were detected in 5 provinces, affecting 1,193,491 birds.

The agency announced that currently the farms that were affected by the virus are still without individuals and are in the process of cleaning, disinfection, sanitary vacuum and possible resettlement, therefore these farms will not be included in the process. vaccinations.

Those considered for this process, which begins this Friday, March 3, are 35 farms located in the focal and perifocal zones of these locations.

“35 farms have been verified to meet biosecurity measures, with approximately 757,818 birds where the vaccine will be administered, and these farms were taken into account because they comply with the basic biosecurity measures required by the Agency,” detailed Agrocalidad, which stated that will be involved in the vaccination process as many producers respect biosecurity measures.

Regarding the next stages of the process and how many more birds they plan to vaccinate, Agrocalidad indicated that the decision to expand vaccination to other areas will be made according to epidemiological monitoring and risk analysis.

“Until now, 35 farms have complied with what the Agency has determined. The validity of the vaccination will depend on the progress of coverage in the affected areas and the epidemiological monitoring of the disease,” the Agency said.

How does the poultry sector achieve this vaccination process?

The coordinator of the National Corporation of Poultry Breeders of Ecuador (Conave), Juan Francisco Jaramillo, assured that the infected birds from November last year to February 2023 are laying hens representing 9% of the total laying population in Ecuador. However, he clarified that the virus does not affect broilers.

What Jaramillo said is reflected in national production statistics provided by Conave, which show a 27.71% and 16.96% increase in chicken production in January and February of this year, compared to the same period in 2022.

In January, the sector produced 25.8 million chickens, and in February 21.7 million. While in January 2022 there were 20.2 million chickens, and in February of that year 18.5 million chickens.

The other side of the coin is shown by the production of eggs, which in January and February of this year decreased by 10.28%, i.e. 8.63% compared to January and February 2022. According to Conave data, last year in January and February in the whole country 560, 9 million eggs, while in January and February 2022, production reached 619.7 million eggs.

These variations are also reflected in the per capita consumption of chicken meat and eggs. Ecuadorians consumed more chicken meat in January and February 2023 than in the same period in 2022. In January, the consumption was 2.67 kg of chicken meat per month, and in February 2.25 kg; an increase of 25.94% and 15.38% respectively.

In the meantime, both egg consumption and production decreased. In January, Ecuadorians consumed 15.84 eggs per person, and in February 14.93. In contrast, in January and February 2022, consumption was higher and amounted to 17.89 eggs per person and 16.56 eggs per person.

The bird flu outbreak has set off alarm bells in countries in the region, which issued a joint statement

Regarding the numbers, Jaramillo clarified that the decrease in the production of table eggs does not correspond to the effect of the current situation, that is, bird flu, but to the economic effect due to the pandemic of COVID-19 and the strikes that the country faced, which caused a decrease in the import of genetic material.

“This means that production and consumption fell in a similar proportion. We do not see an impact on consumption due to the current situation,” said a spokesperson for Conave, who clarified that the data presented was taken from their statistical production estimation system.

Meanwhile, regarding expectations for the rest of 2023, Jaramillo revealed that the industry is aiming to reach pre-pandemic (2019) production levels.

“Production depends on external factors such as the family’s economic situation, political and social situation. This means that the sector is recovering as the country’s economy develops,” he explained.