The South African poultry industry will be vulnerable to avian influenza (bird flu) for the next year, because so far only one chicken flock had been vaccinated against the disease.
The situation was explained to TV news station ENCA by Izaak Breitenbach of the SA Poultry Association (SAPA).
Bird flu is spread by wild birds, which has resulted in outbreaks in North West, Mpumalanga and Western Cape provinces. All three outbreaks had been contained, he said, but the presence of infected wild birds was a concern for poultry farmers.
“At any point in time, the virus can spread from wild birds to our chickens.”
So far, only one flock had been vaccinated against the disease. The biosecurity and monitoring requirements farmers have to meet to get government permission to vaccinate remain onerous.
“Very few companies can achieve that standard, and therefore we are not vaccinating.
“If we get avian influenza within the next year, we will certainly feel the brunt of it,” Breitenbach said.
