Bird flu outbreak could see spike in chicken, egg prices – association
Updated | By Noxolo Miya
The South African Poultry Association has warned of a spike in the prices of chicken and eggs as the country battles its worst outbreak yet of bird flu.
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The association's Abongile Balarane says the industry has lost almost four million birds to the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza.
The outbreak has affected several provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal.
Balarane says they have been battling the outbreak for around five months.
"This H7 has been a very catastrophic one in terms of the egg industry, dominant in Gauteng and Mpumalanga areas to date since the first outbreak was recorded in April, with close to 30% national production size of eggs in South Africa due to the Avian Influenza situation."
He says farmers have been urged to improve their bio-security measures - to contain the spread of the disease.
"We've started a discussion with the government to consider or to look into the possibility of vaccinating both for the H5 and the H7 as one of the long-term solutions for the long-term solution for the egg industry of South Africa.”
The outbreak comes as load shedding is already putting a strain on production in the poultry industry.
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