100 Million Chickens Infected With Avian Flu
Some 100 million egg-laying hens have been infected with the deadly avian flu in Iran and so far 1.20 trillion rials ($27.75 million) have been paid to chicken farmers over their losses, the deputy head at the Agricultural Crops Insurance Fund said.
Ebrahim Hassan-Nejad added that the amount pertains to units that suffered losses due to the outbreak prior to the Iranian month of Mehr (started Sept. 23) and the money for units affected after Mehr has not been paid yet.
According to Hassan-Nejad, plans have been made to pay a further 800 billion rials ($18.50 million) in compensation to chicken farmers.
He added that First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has promised that chicken farmers’ loss be paid in cash at most within the next two weeks.
Broiler Chickens Unharmed by Avian Flu
While egg-laying hens have been infected by the virus, broiler chickens are not affected, the head of Broiler Breeders Union said.
“Broiler chickens are different from egg-laying ones in that they are sent to slaughterhouses within 50 days from hatching, but egg-laying hens live at least for 80 weeks and are bred for 36 months. Egg-laying chickens have weaker bodies because they lay eggs continuously and are prone to diseases,” Mohammad Yousefi was also quoted as saying by ILNA on Friday.
Commenting on broiler chicken prices, he noted that broiler chicken meat is offered at 47,000 rials ($1.08) in chicken farms, at 64,000 rials ($1.4) in slaughterhouses and at 67,500 rials ($1.5) in the market, which indicates a slight decrease from the 70,000 rials ($1.6) prior to the outbreak.
Iranian poultry farms are hit by avian flu every year around this time. The H5N8 strain of bird flu infecting Iranian farms is deadly for poultry, but according to World Health Organization, although human infection with the virus cannot be excluded, the likelihood is low.
Last year, it was first detected in November and in March, it was reported that the virus had spread across 24 Iranian provinces, which led to the culling of some 12 million chicken.
Nasser Nabipour, chairman of the board of directors at Tehran’s Union of Producers of Egg-Laying Chicken, has said the outbreak forced the cull of some 17 million chickens across the country, leading to a decline in supply, a drastic rise in egg prices and a market imbalance, Mehr News Agency reported.
The outbreak is said to have inflicted losses worth over 20 trillion rials (more than $477 million) on production units so far.
According to Ali-Safar Makanali, an official with Iran's Veterinary Organization, 10 million egg-laying hens have replaced the infected and culled ones so far.
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