The first case in three months of H7 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the Western Cape has been diagnosed. Dr Ivan Meyer, the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, urges poultry owners to heighten their security measures as much as possible and to be cautious when bringing in new chickens or allowing visitors into poultry farms.
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‘It is very unfortunate and a blow to the Western Cape poultry industry that the first case of H7 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) was diagnosed yesterday in the George area of the Western Cape. This follows the introduction of chickens from an infected province in the North. The George farm has been quarantined and culling on the farm has already started. Moving chickens from infected provinces should be avoided at all costs as this has a severe impact on the entire Western Cape province if more cases of H7 HPAI are detected.’
The latest detection follows a calm period over the past three months as the Western Cape hasn’t experienced any further outbreaks in the commercial poultry industry.
‘All the outbreaks reported in the period between April and June have been resolved. Whilst under quarantine, the farms had been depopulated, cleaned and disinfected twice with the State Veterinarian’s inspection. The quarantine was lifted, and the outbreaks were reported as resolved and disclosed to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOHA) respectively.’
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Dr Noluvuyo Magadla, state veterinarian and director of Animal Health, appeals to poultry owners to adhere to the following recommendations to prevent the transmission of the disease between farms:
- Discourage interprovincial movement of birds and advise farmers to avoid the movements until the outbreaks are under control;
- Ensure that only healthy poultry is brought onto the property;
- Keep new birds completely separate for two weeks and only introduce them to the other birds if they remain healthy;
- Do not allow anyone who had contact with poultry in the previous two days;
- Do not visit poultry owned by others;
- Use footbaths to disinfect footwear when entering and leaving a poultry house;
- Clean and disinfect vehicles upon entering and exiting properties of mud;
- Keep poultry away from wild birds and their body fluids.
For a list of state veterinarians in the Western Cape, visit https://www.elsenburg.com/veterinary-services/animal-health-and-disease-control/.
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