Pretoria, September 27 (Xinhua) South Africa’s Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development confirmed that there are currently about 60 cases of H5 and H7 highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country.
The central province of Gauteng is the worst affected by the H7 strain, with 37 confirmed cases, while the eastern province of Mpumalanga, the northern province of Limpopo and the north-western province have two confirmed cases each.
A case has been opened at Free State Headquarters.
According to sources reporting this week, the total number of chickens reported to have died from the disease was 107,705, while the number of chickens slaughtered was 1,318,521.
The ministry added that the southern province of the Western Cape was the worst affected by the H5 outbreak, with a total of seven outbreaks reported.
He added that three other HPAI H5 outbreaks occurred in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
The ministry said it had noted the increasing number of H7 and H5 PCR-positive farms and urged the industry to ensure biosecurity at poultry farms to reduce the risk of introduction.
The importation of fertilized eggs has been facilitated for the broiler industry as a way to mitigate the impact of the flu.
The ministry also met with the vaccine registration regulator and agreed to speed up the certification process.
In addition, he encouraged all producers to strengthen biosecurity measures, particularly to prevent contact with wild birds, including their droppings, which can be contained in boots and equipment.
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