“The public is requested to report any sightings of high levels of large wild bird or backyard chicken deaths, after a single outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N8 type was isolated on a farm near Villiers,” the South African Poultry Association said in a statement.
According to Dr Ziyanda Majokweni, Director: Poultry Disease Management Agency, this strain of the virus has its origins in Europe and has been infecting European poultry for more than a year. In May, it was isolated in Zimbabwe.
Majokweni says the disease is spread primarily by water fowl that carry the disease in the highly pathogenic form. The affected farm is near the Vaal River.
“It is likely the disease is present in other South African wild water birds, especially ducks. The farm has been isolated and culling of the birds on the affected site has commenced. Some 28 000 birds are to be culled. The Mpumalanga Veterinary Authority is on the farm, assisting with quarantine implementation, culling and disinfection of the farm.
“This strain has been found not to be dangerous to humans and the birds affected are a very small percentage of the total South African chicken flock.
At this stage there is a very limited impact on chicken supply. As this is the first time that the disease has been found in South African poultry, we are monitoring the situation very closely.”
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