IMPORTANT WARNING

[meroberts]

NOTE: I have not heard of this through the US Embassy and I could not confirm or dismiss... I thought I would post it just in case. If anyone can confirm or deny this, please notify the community. Thank you.
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July 3, 2012 ? MEXICO - The Mexican government declared a national animal health emergency on Monday in the face of an aggressive bird flu epidemic that has infected nearly 1.7 million poultry. More than half the infected birds have died or been culled, the agriculture ministry said of an epidemic that was confirmed on Friday by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). ?We have activated a national animal health emergency... with the goal of diagnosing, preventing, controlling and eradicating the Type A, sub-type H7N3 bird flu virus,? the ministry said. Health officials keep a close watch on such outbreaks in Mexico since so-called swine flu began there in 2009. The H1N1 virus spread into a global pandemic that claimed the lives of 17,000 people. The virus responsible for Mexico's current bird flu outbreak, H7N3, has occasionally caused human disease in various parts of the world, according to the UN, but has not shown itself to be easily transmittable between humans. The outbreak was first detected on June 20. The FAO reported on Friday that 1.7 million birds had been contaminated and 870,000 had died at 10 breeding farms in the western state of Jalisco. ?Terra Daily

[NanN]

The virus appears to have been first detected in two communities in Jalisco according to the two news stories I found (linked below). Neither report that it has spread out of the initial detection areas. The first article quotes an official from Jalisco saying," ?There is no risk of infection (in humans) as a result of consuming poultry,? said Jose Munoz from the Jalisco state government." I don't keep poultry so I'm not worried.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/articl...-emergency

http://www.rt.com/news/mexico-avian-flu-outbreak-257/