South Africa tries to control bird flu by killing nearly 2.5 million chickens
Namibia bans imports of Franco meat and eggs from South Africa.
Nearly 2.5 million chickens have been culled in South Africa to contain dozens of outbreaks of two different strains of bird flu, the government reported for a third day, threatening an industry already facing difficulties.
More than 205,000 people have died from at least 60 different types of bird flu across the country, with more than a quarter of those deaths occurring in Gauteng province, which includes the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, and the administrative capital, Pretoria.
Some small shops in Johannesburg have begun limiting the number of eggs customers can buy this week – in some cases, offering only boxes of six eggs – and the government admits there are “supply constraints”.
Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza announced that the South African government is expediting the issuance of new egg import licenses from other countries “to ensure adequate supply for consumers.”
The ministry is also considering launching a vaccination program to deal with the bird flu outbreak and says the number of cases will increase.
Namibia bans imports of Franco meat and eggs from South Africa.
According to the South African Poultry Association, the bird flu epidemic has become more serious since 2017.
Wilhelm Mare, head of the capoeira poultry section of the South African Veterinary Association, predicts that 8.5 million poultry may be shaved and a further 2.5 million may be used for meat production.
“That tells me we’re going to have problems with this for a while,” Marley was quoted as saying by the Associated Press, calling it “catastrophic” for the industry.
Multiple North American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed that cases of avian influenza are increasing globally, with more than 21,000 cases reported globally between 2013 and 2022. Birds rarely infect humans.
Eggs are an important and easily accessible source of protein in South Africa, but prices are set to rise steadily this year and shortages caused by bird flu will have to push prices up again and fuel food inflation in the country.
South Africa’s Franco meat industry has been severely affected by power shortages this year, with regular energy supply outages still affecting the solvency of the business.
South African farmers will announce in January that they have been forced to cut down nearly 10 million young zebras after record power outages early this year in Africa’s most developed economy slashed production.