Minister of Agriculture
With regard to the recent outbreak of avian flu that is affecting the poultry industry in the province:
(a) When did he and/or his Department first become aware of this outbreak, (b) what (i) is the number and (ii) are the details of all the affected farms, (c)(i) where was it first detected and reported and (ii) by whom, (d)(i) what measures have been implemented to prevent any further spread, (ii) how was this implemented and (iii) how soon after the initial cases were any measure actioned by his Department, (e)(i) how regularly are poultry and other livestock farms inspected by the Department’s officials for safety and animal-health measures and (ii) what system failed in this case that resulted in the culling of birds and losses to the livelihood of workers and (f)(i) what is the estimated cost of this outbreak and the losses suffered by farmers and (ii) what are the details of the support that his Department has provided to farmers?
(a) Increased deaths of chickens were seen on a commercial farm by the farm’s private veterinarian, who notified the state veterinarian of suspicion of high pathogenicity avian influenza and took samples on 19 April 2023. Laboratory results confirming avian influenza were received on 21 April 2023 by both the private veterinarian and the state veterinarian.
(b) (i) There are currently 7 commercial layer chicken farms that were infected with high pathogenicity avian influenza.
(ii) Five farms are in the Paardeberg region and 2 in the George region.
(c) (i) Commercial layer farm in Paardeberg area.
(ii) Initial suspicion and reporting by the farm’s private veterinarian.
(d) (i) All infected farms are placed under verbal quarantine immediately on suspicion of avian influenza infection, and a written quarantine notice is issued the same day that the outbreak is confirmed by positive laboratory results. Culled chickens, as well as eggs, manure and any other contaminated objects, are destroyed safely on the property under the supervision of the state veterinarian.
(ii) Quarantine means that no animal or animal products can be moved onto or off the property without the permission of the state veterinarian. On all farms, the owners decided to start culling the affected chickens to halt the spread of the virus. Culling started even before the confirmatory laboratory results were received.
(iii) See answers to (d) (i) and (d) (ii) above.
(e) (i) Animal health technicians do visits to every farm, on which livestock are kept in the province, at least once every two years. In addition to this, routine disease surveillance including testing for avian influenza, takes place on commercial poultry farms every six months. Farm owners and private veterinarians are also required by law to report any unusual mortalities to their state veterinarian immediately.
(ii) The outbreaks cannot be blamed on a system failure. High pathogenicity avian influenza has been causing outbreaks on poultry farms all over the world for the past two years and is spread between countries and farms by the movement of wild birds. Scientific studies from other countries and from previous outbreaks in South Africa show that in most cases the disease is introduced to new farms by wild birds. The only way to protect against this is for farmers to implement strict biosecurity and hygiene measures on their farms to prevent direct or indirect contact between poultry and wild birds (including their faeces, feather dust and the air they breathe).
(f) (i) From the 7 affected farms approx. 1.8 million birds were culled. Based on this information, the following calculations were made given the number of culled birds and the period of 2 months before the new batch can start laying eggs productively. Therefore, items such as income that could have been realised from eggs and culled hens after the laying cycle need to be taken into account including feed, vaccination and labour during this 8 week period. The total losses amount to R441 million. A breakdown of the losses shows that egg production income declined with R122.8 million over this period including R88 million which could have been realised from the sale of culled hens. The other costs are for the replacement of hens including feeding the layers while waiting for the yield. The Western Cape (WC) has 5 220 540 layer birds (SAPPA, Q1-2023) which accounts for 15.9% of the total layer birds in South Africa (SA).
(ii) From the Department’s side support is provided by making disease control decisions and facilitating disposal of carcasses by liaising with the appropriate authorities from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) and the Municipalities. Information is gathered from the outbreaks and continuous liaison takes place with researchers for avian influenza to be able to advise farmers on how to prevent introductions of disease in the future. We also liaise with the Department of Health and Wellness to visit the farms and provide advice to the farm staff on protecting their own health and how to get tested if they suspect they may have contracted avian influenza.
