Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the South African Poultry Association, told Farmer’s Weekly that up to 100 000 birds had been culled on each of the affected farms to contain the spread of this highly contagious disease. No additional outbreaks were reported at the time of publication.
According to Breitenbach, the outbreaks were likely because of primary infections caused by wild birds migrating from the EU and the US, making the industry particularly vulnerable to further flare ups.
“We can contain the disease by culling and limiting the movement of chicken, but it is impossible to manage the wild birds,” he said.
He added that Astral Foods had obtained a permit to vaccinate its chickens against the H5N1 strain of bird flu responsible for the current outbreak, but it would take at least three weeks for the vaccinated birds to develop immunity.
“The rest of the industry remains at risk, relying solely on biosecurity and culling – which we know are not always effective – for disease prevention. What is of particular concern is that these latest outbreaks occurred on farms I have visited before, and I know they follow very good biosecurity measures.”
Reinforce biosecurity protocols
Breitenbach urged all poultry producers to reinforce their biosecurity protocols, including tightening access controls, disinfecting all vehicles and equipment entering farms, and closely monitoring flock health for early signs of infections.
He said some farmers had started using reflectors to deter wide birds, and spraying antivirals around their poultry houses to reduce the risk of infection from outside sources.
“Just one feather from an infected wild bird can blow in via a fan and into a poultry house, and it would be like a match starting a wildfire, in the case of this disease,” he said.
The last HPAI outbreak occurred in South Africa in 2023, during which more than
9,6 million birds were culled. This represented over a third of all long-living birds in the greater Gauteng area, where 90% of the layer population was either culled or died.
Breitenbach said that the minimum direct loss to the industry was estimated at
R9,5 billion, covering only the cost of losing the birds and lost egg production, but not including the biosecurity measures or carcass disposal.
Unlike many developed countries, South Africa does not compensate farmers for losses associated with HPAI outbreaks.
In 2024, the Western Cape High Court ordered the National Department of Agriculture in 2024 to compensate Moerasrivier Boerdery in George for the compulsory destruction of nearly 400 000 birds and over five million eggs during the HPAI outbreak of 2021. The Department, however, has since appealed the ruling.
“So far the disease is under control and should not have a major impact on production, provided no further outbreaks occur. But, if we suffer major losses like in previous outbreaks, the industry will take a terrible knock, with serious consequences for food security and the price of poultry meat and eggs.”
Francois Baird, founder of FairPlay, warned in a recent newsletter that strict conditions imposed by the Department of Agriculture delayed the start of a vaccination programme by nearly two years.
He cautioned that the initial outbreaks could be followed by many more in the winter months, which would hit poultry producers hard and disproportionately affect consumers, especially low-income households.
“It need not have happened,” Baird said. “Vaccination, an essential weapon against bird flu, could have started two years ago. The country could have been well on the way by now to substantial immunity among the national chicken flock. Bureaucracy got in the way, and not one chicken has yet been vaccinated.”
