8 million chickens killed amid Mexico bird flu outbreak

August 8, 2012

Eight million chickens have been slaughtered in Mexico and another 66 million have been vaccinated in an ongoing effort to contain a bird flu outbreak that began in June in the western state of Jalisco.

-snip-

The western state of Jalisco produces around 11 percent of the country's poultry meat and 50 percent of its eggs, Reuters reported in July.

At that time, officials told Reuters aid there was no risk of infection in humans from eating chicken.

The virus responsible for the outbreak, H7N3, has occasionally caused human disease in some parts of the world, but is not easily transmittable between humans, AFP said.

Health officials have been on alert for new viruses in Mexico since the 2009 outbreak of H1N1 virus, known as "swine flu" that shut down the capital city for several days when it was detected in humans, Reuters reported.