JOHANNESBURG: South African poultry Association has announced that due to avian flu outbreak in the country more than 5 million egg-laying chickens have been culled so far this year, Western media reported on Wednesday.
Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the association has said that virus outbreak was a big challenge for South Africa’s poultry industry.
He said that the cost of chickens and eggs will increase adding Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Free State were the worst hit provinces of the country.
The first bird flu cases were reported in South Africa in April this year in commercial farms of the Western Cape Province.
Breitenbach said the country is already witnessing a shortage of eggs saying that the local industry would soon be importing 10 million eggs to cater the rising demand.
South Africa facing two distinct strains of Avian Flu
Earlier this month, the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) said that the country was facing with two distinct strains of the virus, one the well-known H5N1 and a newly identified strain.
The latter has been spreading fast in the northeastern provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
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It is pertinent to note that bird flu normally does not infect humans, but there are concerns about the H5N1 strain, which is infecting mammals worldwide.
Incidents of transmission of the virus to humans have increased fears about its potential to spread more rapidly among people.
While the virus has historically been confined to seasonal outbreaks, cases have emerged year-round and across the globe since 2021, leading experts to term it the most significant outbreak ever recorded.
