Bird flu vaccination is gaining momentum around the world, but South Africa is being left behind. FairPlay said it is time for the government to act to reduce the risk of another devastating bird flu (avian influenza) outbreak.
FairPlay stated that the reason South Africa’s vaccination programme has stalled is because the department of agriculture officials refuse to modify requirements that poultry producers say are too onerous and costly to implement. Negotiations to get a more practical and affordable set of rules have failed.
“As a result, the ‘mass vaccination programme’ that agriculture minister John Steenhuisen envisaged earlier this year has got no further than a pilot project at one site. Bureaucratic obstacles leave South Africa’s poultry industry vulnerable to another mass bird flu outbreak, such as the one that cost producers R9.5 billion in 2023.
“If that were to happen, many small poultry producers run the risk of going out of business and thousands could lose their jobs,” FairPlay said in a statement.
Govt policy slow to catch up
The organisation said Steenhuisen’s plan is not being implemented as intended, and he should step in to put things right. “Sensible and workable proposals have been put forward, and agreement would get the vaccination programme going again.
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“The government should also be launching a campaign to help consumers understand that a vaccination programme would protect consumers and hold no risk. FairPlay will actively support such a government communication programme.”
According to FairPlay, the South African government is not alone in its tardiness, because when the world’s poultry veterinarians met in Malaysia earlier this month, they agreed that vaccination had become a critical element in the control and prevention of bird flu. They also noted that, while there were no longer technical or economic obstacles to vaccination, government policy could be slow to catch up.
“The veterinary congress was told that vaccination programmes had proven to be extremely valuable in reducing and preventing transmission of bird flu within and between flocks.
“Vaccination campaigns in France and in six Latin American countries had demonstrated clear success in outbreak reduction. There is now a compelling case for the benefits of vaccination, which will boost investment in the poultry sector, and in the medium to long term, reduce the consumer price of chicken,” FairPlay said.
Professor Abdul Omar, who chaired the congress, commented that science has shown that vaccination works; now, governments must act.
“Producers are ready, veterinarians are ready, and technology is ready. It is time for regulatory systems to catch up with science. There are no technical or economic barriers that cannot be overcome. What remains are policy decisions,” Omar said.
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