After months of wrangling between the South African government and poultry producers, there has at last been a breakthrough and a bird flu vaccination programme should soon get underway.
The good news was announced by Dipepeneneng Serage, a deputy director general at the Department of Agriculture when he addressed the poultry conference AVI Africa in Johannesburg this week. Delegates gave him an enthusiastic round of applause.
Serage said South Africa was now ready to begin vaccinations immediately.
“We have the data, we know which farms we’re starting with — now we have to start,” he told the poultry industry delegates.
Three vaccines against the H5 bird flu strain have been officially registered for use, with an H7 vaccine currently under development. One farm is already under evaluation for compliance and may be the first to begin vaccinations under the new framework.
The go-ahead for vaccination follows the intervention of agriculture minister John Steenhuisen, who had instructed his department to negotiate an agreement with poultry producers on a practical and affordable vaccination regime.
Despite increasingly urgent pleas from poultry producers about the urgency of a vaccination programme, the department had insisted on requirements that poultry farmers said were too onerous and too expensive.
Renewed discussions ordered by Steenhuisen have now produced a different result.
As bird flu spreads rapidly around the world, vaccinations are increasingly being seen as an essential prevention and control measure. In multiple countries, mass cullings have proved ineffective in stamping out the virus and preventing ever more infections.
FairPlay founder Francois Baird expressed his delight at the development.
“FairPlay has campaigned vigorously and consistently for the removal of blockages to a vaccination programme in South Africa. I hope that a sensible compromise has now been reached between the government and the poultry industry and that vaccination can get underway without more obstructions.
“Vaccination should have started a year ago and it is now more urgent than ever. South Africa cannot afford another disastrous year like 2023, when the worst bird flu outbreak in the country’s history cost producers some R9.5 billion. Many small businesses closed and many jobs were lost,” Baird said.
