South Africa is about to join the countries vaccinating chickens against bird flu. The programme will start on a few farms, once agreement is reached on revised vaccination requirements, and then expand across the country.
The process was outlined by Izaak Breitenbach of the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) in an interview with the FairPlay Bulletin.
The poultry industry has been calling for a national vaccination programme to prevent a repeat of the 2023 bird flu outbreaks, which resulted in the culling of millions of chickens and industry losses of R9.5 billion.
Vaccination is seen as an essential protective measure, as multiple countries have found that culling is not an effective way to control the disease or prevent its spread.
Vaccination has stalled because since November 2023 the department of agriculture has insisted on biosecurity and monitoring requirements that poultry producers have said are too onerous and too expensive.
Those requirements remain in place for the moment, Breitenbach said, but negotiations are underway for a more reasonable set of protocols. The big change is that agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has instructed that vaccination must get underway and officials will be negotiating with that in mind.
Once the poultry industry is satisfied that the protocols are practical and affordable, vaccinations will be applied to day-old chicks going to breeder operations and layer farms producing table eggs. Shorter-lived birds – the broiler birds that produce the chicken meat sold in shops – will not be vaccinated.
Producers will also have to keep a separate flock of unvaccinated chickens producing meat for export, Breitenbach said. This is because several countries will not accept meat from vaccinated flocks.
Smaller producers will not need to vaccinate, because they can buy vaccinated chicks from the larger hatcheries.
Vaccinations would involve the three vaccines approved to protect against the H5 strain of the virus. H5 was the main concern, Breitenbach said. A vaccine against the H7 strain was expected in the near future, but as this strain appeared to have died out it was not seen as an immediate threat.
The poultry industry is hoping for a quick agreement on the final set of biosecurity and monitoring requirements. Then, after the planned small start, a mass vaccination programme can get underway.
It was too late for vaccinations to provide adequate protection against bird flu this winter, Breitenbach said. However, the prospects for 2026 would be much improved by a widespread vaccination programme starting this year.
