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 Around 300 birds died of avian flu at the commercial chicken-layer
farm in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, with samples from the farm
testing positive for the H5 strain, the Department of Agriculture,
Land Reform and Rural Development said in a statement.
The birds in the affected house at the farm were destroyed and the
farm placed under quarantine while veterinary authorities
investigate the extent of the outbreak.
The same farm had also been affected by the 2017 outbreak of the
highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of avian flu, which saw poultry
farmers culling millions of birds and prompted neighbouring
countries including Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to ban poultry
imports from South Africa.
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 The H5N8 strain of avian
influenza is highly pathogenic among fowl but
poses little risk to human health.
The department warned poultry farmers to be on
the lookout for signs of the disease and report
any suspicions to the nearest state
veterinarian.
(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by
Kirsten Donovan)
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