South Africa: Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Gauteng, North West, and Western Cape Provinces

On April 13, 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that an avian influenza outbreak was detected in the Gauteng Province that led to the culling of 240,000 birds. Six days later, two additional commercial chicken properties tested positive for the H5 variant. One is a commercial chicken-layer farm also in Gauteng; the second one is a commercial chicken parent breeder farm in the North West Province. During May, two more outbreaks were reported in the Western Cape and in Gauteng. As a result of these outbreaks, Botswana and Mozambique restricted imports of poultry from South Africa. Notably, one of the three affected facilities is a registered compartment for export.