SOUTH Africa’s poultry industry is on high alert as it faces the looming threat of another devastating avian flu outbreak. In 2023, the sector was hit hard, with at least 9 million chickens culled in response to the virus, leaving lasting scars on the industry. Producers are still struggling to recover from the previous round, as the country braces for another potential wave.

Dr Abongile Balarane chief executive and general manager of the South African Poultry Association's Egg Organisation paints a grim picture. He says given the number of avian flu outbreaks around the world, it's just a matter of time. “Currently there is no bird flu in SA, but because of what is happening globally with many countries testing positive for avian influenza, we believe at some stage it will reach SA but for now we are clean. We do not anticipate any supply issues at this stage as we are rebuilding the lost production from the previous Avian influenza.”

Avian flu is a viral disease that affects a range of birds and also poses a threat to mammals, including humans. On Monday the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) warned that over the past four years there has been a shift in the geographical spread of bird flu which had impacted food security and driven up prices for poultry products.

The FOA said it resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of poultry with “increased spillover” into mammals. It warned that the situation would also have a serious impact on jobs and local economies, stressing the need to strengthen biosecurity, surveillance and rapid-response mechanisms to curb the outbreak.

During the outbreak in South Africa in 2023, millions of poultry birds were culled leading to a shortage of chickens and eggs in the country. Poultry products were imported to meet the nation’s demands. Speaking to the Independent on Saturday yesterday, the Ministry of Agriculture said it encouraged biosecurity on farms as the main strategy to prevent contact between wild birds and poultry, and to prevent lateral spread to other poultry properties in the event of an outbreak. Spokesperson Joylene Van Wyk said Minister John Steenhuiosen had also signed into effect a protocol for the vaccination of poultry under very specific conditions which were designed to prevent the inadvertent spread of the disease by vaccinated animals.

“The poultry industry did make Minister Steenhuisen aware of its concern regarding the protocol. Minister Steenhuisen met with the officials in the department and requested that they engage with the South African Poultry Association to refine some measures in order to come up with a protocol that is practically implementable and workable while ensuring early detection and managing the outbreak should a farm be infected,” she said.

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) previously warned of a possible outbreak of avian influenza, saying it was a looming disaster that could devastate the poultry industry unless urgent action was taken. Although previous outbreaks were contained, the NSPCA’s Farm Animal Protection Unit manager, senior inspector Nazareth Appalsamy, said South Africa is on the brink of an Avian Influenza disaster, and the government’s failure to act could cause suffering for thousands of birds. “The NSPCA warns that without urgent intervention, another outbreak will tear through the poultry industry, leaving millions of birds in its wake and even threaten wild bird populations,” he said.

Appalsamy warned that culling birds was the fastest and and most effective way of preventing the spread of avian flu in the poultry industry if there was an outbreak. However, he said vaccination could also play a crucial role in reducing outbreaks. “The NSPCA recently met with the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), which agrees that humane culling and preventative measures are essential. However, without immediate government intervention, another outbreak is inevitable,” he said. The warning follows a call by the NSPCA for the minister to drive vaccination and access to the vaccine, with sufficient biosecurity measures, in November. “To date, we have received no response. The NSPCA has directed another letter to Minister Steenhuisen, for which we await a reply. “This is both an animal welfare emergency and a looming economic disaster, with potential losses reaching millions of rands,” warned Appalsamy.

Yesterday , Francois Baird the founder of FairPlay a non-profit organisation, said it was time for Steenhuisen to step in, because two key measures to prevent bird flu outbreaks or lessen its spread were not being authorised by the Department of Agriculture. “Those two measures are a national vaccination programme against bird flu, and the payment of compensation to chicken farmers for birds the government orders them to cull during bird flu outbreaks. These problems are delaying essential action against another bird flu outbreak, which will cause more disastrous losses for poultry farmers, raise the price of chicken and eggs, and add to hunger and misery in poor communities.”

Baird said wild birds have brought the disease to South Africa on three previous occasions, and the global spread of bird flu has raised fears that South Africa is once again vulnerable. According to Baird, during a webinar hosted by FairPlay last week, Izaak Breitenbach of the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) said the methods currently used to control the disease – stringent biosecurity measures at poultry plants and culling infected birds – were no longer sufficient. He said vaccination had to be added to these control measures to avoid another bird flu disaster. The 2023 outbreak cost the industry R9.5 billion.

Baird said Breitenbach’s call for an urgent vaccination programme was supported by veterinarians and scientists during the webinar. “Compensation is regarded in other countries as an important bird flu control measure because it encourages chicken farmers to report outbreaks rather than hide them, which allows the disease to spread,” said Baird.