FAO has called for an urgent action to step up biosecurity, surveillance and rapid response mechanism to control the outbreak.
“The crisis threatens to have serious impacts on food security and food supply in countries, including loss of valuable nutrition, rural jobs and income, shocks to local economies, and of course increasing costs to consumers,” said Godfrey Magwenzi, deputy director-general at FAO, addressing a press briefing.
With millions relying on poultry for meat and eggs, the challenge is not only to contain the virus but also to protect food production systems, he added.
The United Nationas noted the wide-scale economic impact of the outbreak the world is facing. For instance, it observed the record prices of eggs in the US. In February, the prices soared to $10 or higher per dozen.
As many as 166,417,923 poultry birds have been affected till March 14 across 51 jurisdictions, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and some 985 dairy herds have been reportedly affected until March 12 in 17 states of the US. About 30 million birds have been killed since January alone, FAO said.
At least 300 new wild bird species have been infected since 2021, posing a serious threat to biodiversity, the organisation said in a statement.
