Although the third outbreak of avian flu in three months was contained, the South African Poultry Association , which has over 100 members, said on Tuesday it was concerned because all of the local flareups experienced this year had been spread by wild birds. This made it more difficult to control.
"The concern though is that our wild birds are positive and therefore there is a good chance for the disease to be spread from wild birds to chickens in more outbreaks than the three we've seen and in more parts of the country." The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health said, according to Reuters, that a total of 9 500 farm poultry died in the latest South African outbreak, with one one farm seeing 2 000 birds wiped out and the other 7 500.A deep dive into the big business story of the week, as well as expert analysis of markets and trends.
The initial outbreak of avian flu in the Western Cape in April and May was due to the H5N1 virus, which was also responsible for a second outbreak in the George area about two to three weeks ago.