MEXICO. - Mexican authorities have sacrificed 480,000 chickens that were all affected by the bird flu outbreak that was detected in 12 farms in the central state of Guanajuato, officials said.

The National Service of Agro Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality Verification and Standardization Unit, said that up until Tuesday they had vaccinated 189,500 birds to contain the outbreak of the "highly pathogenic avian influenza AH7N" in four municipalities of Guanajuato.

The agency said that technicians in the health department have gather about 2,543 samples in 22 production units, and added that they will continue to work on the diagnostics and continue epidemiological surveillance in the region as well.

Also, the agency explained that they "will keep the in stock and use the vaccines necessary to treat birds in the surrounding areas to prevent the disease from spreading."

This agency, which is also administered under the Ministry of Agriculture, said on Monday that the virus was detected in 12 of Guanajuato production units, of which ten of them produce hens and two others produce eggs for human consumption, all whom are owned by the company Bachoco.

Authorities in several states where some poultry farms are established like Michoacán, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Nuevo Leon and Yucatan, control and surveillance measures have been implemented to prevent infected birds from entering their territories.

Several local media sources have begun to report some increases in the prices of eggs and chicken, with the excuse of a possible shortage of these products due to the outbreak.

In June of last year there was an outbreak of the same virus that led authorities and producers to slaughter more than 22 million birds that were infected, sparking a shortage of eggs and chicken meat that led the rise in prices.

Editorial@sandiegored.com