The South African poultry industry and the government have agreed on high-level co-operation to address the spread of avian influenza (bird flu) in the country. The outbreak has already led to a shortage of eggs, and is expected to affect chicken meat supplies later in the year.
Izaak Breitenbach of the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) told the FairPlay Bulletin that he had had a meeting with Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza and senior officials to discuss measures to combat South Africa’s worst bird flu outbreak. Officials will meet weekly from now onwards, with report-backs to Minister Didiza every three weeks.
“It was a very constructive meeting, and we are working on this together,” Breitenbach said. “Issues are being addressed, and we will streamline the implementation of processes to eradicate this disease.
“We agreed to fast-track the importation of vaccines, without the elaborate 2-year testing process that could have applied. We must have vaccines because the ‘stamping out’ policy of mass cullings that worked in 2017 and 2021 is not working in 2023.
“The virus has become endemic. Avian influenza is a winter disease, and we had hoped that infections would decline as we head into our summer. The disease is not abating . We have flocks testing positive for avian influenza every day.”
Breitenbach said the vaccine batches would go to producers that comply with the biosecurity requirements set by DALRRD. Discussions are underway to reduce some of the onerous government requirements that producers must meet before they are permitted to vaccinate their poultry.
Vaccines were available for both the H5 strain which has affected poultry in the Western Cape since April, and for the newer H7 strain which is spreading rapidly in Gauteng, the country’s poultry heartland, and other northern provinces.
“We hope to have the first vaccines available within two to six months,” Breitenbach said. Scientists were also working on a local vaccine for the H7 strain afflicting South African poultry.
In the meantime, cullings and strict biosecurity measures would have to continue, as this was the only way at the moment to limit the spread of the disease once an outbreak occurred.
