Mexico reports first outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on poultry farm

PARIS (Reuters) - Mexico reported its first outbreak this season of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday, just a month after Mexico declared it was free of the disease. The outbreak detected in the northwestern state of Sonora killed 15,000 of a flock of 90,000 laying hens, and the remaining birds were slaughtered, the Paris-based WOAH said, citing Mexican authorities. "The first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 of this season was reported in a poultry production unit in the municipality of Cajeme, Sonora," WOAH said in a report. It added the subtype of the virus found is H5N1, which is not dangerous to humans through meat or egg consumption. Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Wednesday that there was a quarantine in place to prevent the spread. The ministry also said that the disease had been detected on another farm three kilometers away, which housed 54,000 birds, ...