South Africa’s poultry sector prepares for mass avian influenza vaccination

South Africa has faced significant outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, the worse being in 2023 when approximately 9.5 million birds were culled to contain the outbreak. This includes both broilers and layers and represented about 20-30% of the country’s total chicken stock.

While the country has since been in recovery, there are ongoing concerns about the risk of new outbreaks, and warnings have also come from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has called for urgent government intervention to prevent another outbreak.

Increases of avian influenza cases worldwide

South Africa’s agriculture minister John Steenhuisen says South Africa is not currently facing an outbreak of avian influenza, but there has been an uptick in bird flu cases around the world.

Speaking about the vaccination campaign, he said: “What we are trying to do is to prevent the devastation that could come if there’s an outbreak[…] We have made a decision in collaboration with the poultry association in South Africa to embark upon this process.”

Runaway food prices and risk of job losses

Steenhuisen also spoke about the impact that a bird flu outbreak has on the cost of food for consumers and the risk that more jobs are lost. “The government of national unity has committed to bringing down the cost of food for consumers in South Africa and this is just one step in trying to prevent runaway food prices if we have a mass cull or a mass death rate of chickens as a result of avian influenza.”

Vaccine supply secured

He added: “Our vaccination team, comprised of poultry specialist vets from the University of Pretoria, along with the Agricultural Research Council, has received a list of farms to be vaccinated from the poultry industry and is prioritising high risk areas and commercial flocks to contain the virus and prevent further culling. We have secured vaccine supply, ensured cold chain capacity, and are building in traceability and reporting mechanisms as part of a wider preparedness strategy.”

Future growth of the sector

The minister wants to grow the sector. “There’s huge growth potential for this particular sector and also there’s a huge growth potential for emerging and previously disadvantaged farmers to enter into this sector and so we’re obviously looking to expand it massively. The more supply we can create, I think the cheaper the prices will be for consumers.”