SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil, one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of poultry, confirmed May 16 the country’s first bird flu outbreak on a commercial farm.

The virus was found at a facility in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the country’s agriculture ministry said in a statement. It said a contingency plan has been implemented “not only to eliminate the disease but also to maintain the sector’s productive capacity, ensuring supply and, consequently, food security for the population.”

The ministry said it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health, the Ministries of Health and the Environment and Brazil’s trade partners.

The agency said in a subsequent statement that China and the European Union have halted poultry imports from Brazil, following trade agreements.

Restriction on poultry exports follows rules agreed on with each importing country, based on international health certificate requirements, the Agriculture and Livestock ministry added. Depending on the type of the disease, some deals apply to the whole country while others involve limits on where products can come from – for example, a specific state, city or just the area of the outbreak.

“Countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Philippines have already accepted this regional approach,” the ministry said.

Brazil is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of poultry, accounting for 14 percent of global chicken meat production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

An egg shortage in the United States following the bird flu outbreak boosted Brazilian egg exports to the U.S., rising by more than 1,000 percent between January and April 2025 compared to the same period the previous year, according to trade data from the Brazilian government.

Brazil’s agriculture ministry also said the disease is not transmitted through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs.

“The risk of human infection by the avian flu virus is low and occurs mostly among handlers or professionals who have close contact with infected birds (alive or dead),” the ministry said.

Brazilian chicken exports have previously faced resistance over sanitary concerns. In 2018, the European Union temporarily banned imports of chicken from 20 Brazilian plants due to concerns about salmonella. Brazil brought the case to the World Trade Organization.