BRASILIA, BRAZIL — The Brazilian government confirmed this weekend that it would voluntarily stop poultry exports to 44 countries until it gathered more information about the discovery of Newcastle disease in some flocks in the country.

The suspension of exports by Brazil’s minister of agriculture and livestock (MAPA) included exports to China, Argentina and Mexico.

On July 21, MAPA stated that three potential new cases of Newcastle were negative for the disease after being collected in a protection zone in the region of Rio Grande do Sul after being analyzed by its federal laboratories.

The negative results are an extremely positive sign regarding the containment of this health event, which is important for a quick resolution of the situation, and reinforces the robustness of Brazil’s agricultural defense system,” said Carlos Fávaro, minister of agriculture and livestock (MAPA) in Brazil. “President Lula requested that the case be handled with complete transparency in order to reassure the population and importing countries regarding the safety of our agricultural defense system. I am certain that with the agility of our teams, we will return to normal exports very soon.”

The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) published a statement on July 19 about how it would assist the government while they test for this disease throughout the country.

“There are no signs of an increase in the occurrence, but only one sample was identified during testing of a specific situation,” said José Eduardo dos Santos, president of the Gaúcha Poultry Association (ASGAV), alongside the statement from ABPA on July 19. “For all these reasons, we hope that normality will be restored in the short term. It is also worth remembering that there is no risk to the consumer and that all steps to eliminate the occurrence and disinfect the farm have already been taken.”