Bird flu outbreak in the Western Cape
By Tando Mfengwana
A farm has been placed under quarantine and 60 ostriches have been killed. This
comes after an outbreak of bird flu on an ostrich farm near Mossel Bay. This is the first report of the disease in the Western Cape. This follows the ostrich industry being hit by avian flu in the Eastern Cape in July 2004. According to the International Organisation for Animal Health, a country affected by an outbreak cannot export meat for 21 days. This development comes at the worst time for the country because it’s not yet known how it will affect the South Africa’s export market. The virus is a H5N2 strain of the avian flu, which is not related to the highly infectious strain of avian flu H5N1.
Picture: www.ostrich.org.uk
A farm has been placed under quarantine and 60 ostriches have been killed. This
comes after an outbreak of bird flu on an ostrich farm near Mossel Bay. This is the first report of the disease in the Western Cape. This follows the ostrich industry being hit by avian flu in the Eastern Cape in July 2004. According to the International Organisation for Animal Health, a country affected by an outbreak cannot export meat for 21 days. This development comes at the worst time for the country because it’s not yet known how it will affect the South Africa’s export market. The virus is a H5N2 strain of the avian flu, which is not related to the highly infectious strain of avian flu H5N1.Picture: www.ostrich.org.uk
Comments