Picture: for illustration purposes
The South African provincial department of agriculture has reported a first case of the highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) H7N6 strain in the George region of Western Cape. This makes Western Cape the latest region to battle the HPAI H7N6 strain, which has already been observed in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the Free State, and Limpopo.
MEC Ivan Meyer expressed concern over the situation, noticing the grave implications it has for the Western Cape poultry industry. He revealed that the diagnosis followed the introduction of chickens from an infected province in the north.
The nation has been grappling with two highly pathogenic avian influenza strains, notably H5N1 and H7N6, across multiple provinces. Millions of birds have had to be culled to mitigate the spread of these pathological strains, which pose a threat to both wild and domestic birds.
Despite seven H5N1 outbreaks in the Western Cape from April to June, it seemed that the threat to wild birds was contained as the commercial poultry industry has managed to avoid new outbreaks for three months.
Preventing further spread of H7N6 HPAI, Meyer advised poultry owners to boost their biosecurity controls. He emphasised the importance of cautious behaviour when introducing new chickens, permitting visitors, vehicle access to farms and especially cautioned against transporting chickens from infected provinces.
Fortunately, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reassured that the avian flu outbreaks pose minimum risk to humans. The RNA virus is primarily found in the waste exuded by infected birds. Domestic birds may contract the disease through direct contact with infected poultry on neighbouring properties or through faecal contamination from wild birds.
The NICD also highlighted that poultry products including fresh and frozen chickens, as well as commercially available eggs, are safe for consumption.