August 17, 2004

 

 

More Farms Hit By Bird Flu In South Africa

The Department of Agriculture in South Africa has culled thousands of ostriches on five more farms over the past few days.

 

Sources say the mass culling was ordered after the dreaded avian flu (also known as bird flu) was diagnosed in ostriches on farms neighbouring the two farms where the virus first broke out.

 

Some of the infected farms fall outside the initial 10km quarantine area, but are still within the 30km zone.

 

The department of agriculture maintained on Monday that the avian flu was limited to the two farms of Sid Birch - Endor and Voorspoed.

 

Birch's 8,000 ostriches have already been culled.

 

A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday night that observers reported a high number of deaths "on more than one farm neighbouring the initial two farms where avian flu broke out".

 

However, he did not want to provide more information on where the farms were situated or confirm the culling of thousands of ostriches.

 

He said about 10,000 ostriches contracted avian flu, although there are more than 30,000 ostriches in the quarantine area.

 

The department is investigating the possibility that other poultry, as well as pigs which can be carriers of the virus, will have to be culled on these five neighbouring farms to prevent the virus from spreading.

 

Officials from the department of agriculture started the culling of ostriches in the district on August 10.

 

The birds are rendered unconscious by an electric shock and then shot in the head with a pen pistol.

 

The carcasses are thrown in mass graves, covered with lime and buried.