South African poultry farmers find themselves in dire straits as they issue a grave warning of potential shortages in both chicken and eggs. Their struggle against what specialists in the industry have termed the most severe avian flu epidemic ever witnessed in the nation has exacted a harrowing toll
On a fateful Friday, Quantum Foods, a prominent producer in the region, revealed a staggering loss of nearly two million chickens. This loss translates to a colossal financial blow, exceeding 100 million rand, or $5.3 million, due to the relentless onslaught of the disease.
In a recent update within the trading sphere, Astral, a fellow producer, depicted a bleak scenario, emphatically stating, "The avian flu outbreak is the most severe South Africa has ever experienced." This dire circumstance has already led to a decline in the availability of table eggs, and there are foreboding forecasts of a possible adverse effect on the poultry meat supply chain in the upcoming months.
The cost of the outbreak to Astral has already reached a staggering 220 million rand, and the toll continues to climb.
South Africa, a major player in the poultry industry on the African continent, first reported cases of bird flu in commercial farms back in April, as reported by industry sources.
Contributing to the intricacy of the matter, the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) recently unveiled that the nation is contending not with just a single but rather two separate strains of the virus: the infamous H5N1 and a recently identified variant known as H7N6.
The latter strain is rapidly spreading in the northeastern provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, as reported by Astral.
It's crucial to emphasize that bird flu typically does not pose a risk to humans. However, the H5N1 variant has been increasingly observed in various mammals worldwide, ranging from sea lions in Argentina to foxes in Finland. This situation heightens concerns about the potential for easier transmission to humans.
What amplifies the worry surrounding this outbreak is its deviation from the typical pattern of seasonal occurrences. Since 2021, cases have been emerging throughout the year, and the outbreak has expanded its geographical scope, making it the most substantial outbreak in recent memory, as noted by experts.
SAPA disclosed that the number of avian flu cases in South Africa this year has surpassed all previous records, exceeding even the levels reported during the initial outbreaks in commercial farms back in 2017.
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