Brazil sets up sanitary barriers to contain bird flu

SAO PAULO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul began on Sunday installing road barriers to contain an outbreak of avian influenza at a commercial farm in the municipality of Montenegro.

Eduardo Leite, governor of Rio Grande do Sul, issued a decree to establish seven sanitary road barriers to check the bird flu and disinfect vehicles, especially cargo trucks, within a 3-10 km radius from the farm 24 hours a day.

Patrols from the country's department of animal health surveillance and defense have begun to inspect rural properties within a 10-km radius from the epicenter of the outbreak, in efforts to monitor all cargo vehicles, including those transporting food and milk through the affected area.

Brazil's agriculture ministry has announced that there is no evidence of contamination in eggs and that it has adopted necessary measures to protect the poultry industry. Enditem