KZN bird flu outbreak fake news

A number of messages doing the rounds on social media say around 90 000 chickens in Durban have been infected. Khaye Nkwanyana, who is with Agriculture and Rural Development, says it is fake news. 

"We want to dismiss the information that has been circulated on WhatsApp and elsewhere, claiming that Durban has 90 000 affected chickens. It's fake news and people must not panic," he said. 

Nkwanyana has appealed to people to please stop sharing the information. He says a departmental team is currently monitoring the province and has not found any trace of bird flu to date. 

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"We want to put it on record that our chickens in the province are safe. None have been affected. Our team, as government, is monitoring 24 hours. The province remains unaffected but we are on high alert," he said. 

Government introduced a nationwide ban on the sale of live chickens this week after confirming two cases of bird flu on farms in Mpumulanga. 

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In a voicenote doing the rounds via WhatsApp, it's claimed that East Coast Radio Newswatch reported that KZN's chickens are contaminated by avian flu. This is false. 

East Coast Radio's Programming Manager Zane Derbyshire says the information did not emanate from the radio station or its Newswatch reports. 

"If you receive or have received this audio clip, you are urged to ignore it and more importantly, please DO NOT pass it on to other people as it will cause unnecessary panic. Our credibility as a reliable news source in KZN is a responsibility we do not take lightly and we are horrified that someone has attributed this fake news story to us," Derbyshire said. 

Listen to the full bulletin below.