Destroy 8 million chickens because of the flu

Mexico has just destroyed 8 million chickens and vaccinated another 66 million to prevent the spread of flu when the disease is outbreaking in the western part of the country, the government has said.

A poultry farm is being sprayed with disinfectant to kill the flu germ. (Source: AFP)

The Mexican Ministry of Agriculture announces the introduction of flu vaccination and poultry culling in Los Altos, in the state of Jalisco.

Food safety officials said the outbreak discovered on June 20 only occurred in Los Altos, the region that produces large eggs. Other areas have not shown signs of outbreaks.

Announcing the national epidemic has been launched since early July, pushing prices of eggs and poultry soared.

The Mexican government hopes to vaccinate 80 million poultry in the first phase of the program, then analyze the effectiveness before the implementation of Phase 2.

The pandemic virus this time is H7N3 - sometimes spread to people scattered around the world, the UN agency said. However, H7N3 has not spread easily from person to person.

Several strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, have spread to humans. The World Health Organization has recorded 607 H5N1 cases since 2003, of which 358 have died.