Africa-Press – Angola. The Government of Namibia announced the suspension of imports of chickens and eggs from neighboring South Africa, which is experiencing the most serious outbreak of bird flu in its history.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the decision, with immediate effect, comes after an “alarming” increase in cases of “highly pathogenic avian influenza”.
“The import and transit of live chickens, poultry meat, eggs and chicks from South Africa will be suspended “until further notice”, according to Namibian Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Jona Musheko, to AFP.
One of the continent’s main poultry producers, South Africa reported the first cases of avian influenza on poultry farms in April.
Due to its proximity, it was Namibia’s “preferred supplier” of chickens.
The source said the country also imports birds from Europe and South America.
Threat of shortages
Almost a week ago, poultry farmers in South Africa warned of the threat of chicken shortages in the coming months, due to the epizootic.
Quantum Foods, one of the heavyweights in the market, reported losses of around 5.3 million dollars, or two million chickens, on its farms due to the virus.
The country’s largest producer, Astral, had also announced that the market was already suffering from a shortage of eggs.
According to a 2020 report by the South African Poultry Association, the poultry industry continues to be the single largest contributor to the agricultural sector in the country.
In 2020, about 18 percent of the total gross agricultural value and 41 percent of the gross value of animal products came from poultry production.
Across the world, bird flu is infecting more and more mammals, from foxes to sea lions, raising fears that the virus is adapting to infect humans more easily, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). .
Contagion is generally seasonal, but in recent years cases have emerged throughout the year, and experts now consider the epizootic to be the largest ever observed.
Epizootic is the concept used in veterinary and population ecology to describe a contagious disease that attacks an unusual number of animals at the same time and in the same region and that spreads quickly.
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