This project expects to achieve the following results: (i) an updated regulatory framework approved by the competent agricultural authorities of the beneficiary countries to facilitate safe trade of poultry products; (ii) strengthened capacities of poultry producers to respond to avian influenza outbreaks; and (iii) improved national health surveillance systems for the prevention, rapid response and control of avian influenza in the Central American Integration System (SICA) region.
Avian influenza (AI) is a viral disease that affects both wild and domesticated birds. It is highly contagious and causes high morbidity and mortality in birds. AI has had a considerable impact on the poultry value chain, by threatening the livelihoods of producers and food security in several regions of the world. The increasing circulation of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in wild animals requires stronger control measures such as biosecurity, surveillance and early detection. The recent ongoing global spread of HPAI infections to mammals, including humans, is a significant public health concern.
In the SICA region, between October 2022 and June 2023, HPAI was confirmed in wild birds in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, as well as in households chickens in Costa Rica and Panama. Seasonal migration of wild birds increases the risk of spread of the disease to poultry in the region. In this region, poultry farming is a relevant economic activity, whose production and trade generate revenues of close to US$200 million/year. In 2022, the main chicken producers in the region were the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras. In 2021, Costa Rica was the main exporter and Guatemala the main importer of poultry.
Some of the main challenges of the region linked to HPAI are: (i) lack of updated and harmonized regulatory instruments related to the disease, poultry farming and the safe trade of its products at regional and national levels; (ii) limited capacity of producers and other actors in the poultry value chain for the prevention, response and control of HPAI outbreaks, especially related biosecurity, surveillance and early reporting; and (iii) limited capacity in veterinary services and other related national institutions required to conduct HPAI diagnosis, surveillance and risk management.