SA's neighbours ban poultry imports over bird flu

WINDHOEK, Namibia - Four of South Africa's neighbours have banned poultry imports from the rainbow nation following a serious outbreak of a highly contagious strain of avian influenza.

28 Jun 2017

ben via Wikimedia Commons

Namibia on Tuesday became the latest country to ban South African chickens - live and uncooked - following last week's outbreak of the H5N8 strain of bird flu at two South African poultry farms.

Windhoek followed Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, along with Zambia, which had already halted the imports of certain poultry products from South Africa. Namibia's chief veterinary officer Adrianatus Maseke confirmed, in a statement, "the suspension of import and 'in-transit' movement of live poultry, birds, poultry products, ostriches and ostrich products from South Africa".

Authorities also suspended imports from Belgium which reported a bird flu outbreak in February.

Zimbabwean government veterinarian Joseph Nyika said that Harare's ban on poultry would be lifted when South Africa confirmed that the situation had been contained - even though the southern Africa outbreak is thought to have started in Zimbabwean birds earlier this month.

In a bid to contain the outbreak, South Africa is culling thousands of birds and has introduced a nationwide ban on the sale of live chickens.

The H5N8 strain can spread quickly through affected farms, forcing farmers to cull thousands of birds. South African poultry experts said the strain arrived in the region with birds migrating from Europe.

Source: AFP

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za