Explainer: South Africa's chicken vaccine play may already be too late
South Africa is finally vaccinating its chickens, but unfortunately, it won't protect against the virus that's already shredded the industry.
Here's the kicker in the Department of Agriculture's long-delayed greenlighting of mass poultry vaccination: Biosecurity Council proactivity will lead to the roll-out of H5 vaccines that can't protect against the H7N6 strain, the viral villain of the avian flu outbreak of 2023, the country's worst yet.
A vaccine for the H7 mutation? Still 'in the registration process,' says the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
Meanwhile, the virus most responsible for wiping out nearly 10 million birds in 2023 is still loitering in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng, like a bad flu that just won't go away.
Graphic by Yeshiel Panchia
Don't panic, but it's endemic now, circulating in wild birds and on edge-of-recovery farms. And there's no shield against it, not even a metaphorical one.
Wait, what is 'biosecurity'?
John Steenhuisen has not explained that no farm has yet met the biosecurity protocols required to vaccinate against any strain, according to the South African Poultry Association (Sapa).
'Onerous' and 'prohibitively expensive' are the words the association is using. But this chicken-and-egg situation isn't new. It's the latest act in a decade-long outbreak drama that has seen small farmers bankrupted, prices skyrocket and government agencies perpetually one step behind.
Nowhere is the policy and practicality mismatch clearer than in the agriculture department's long-standing 'nil compensation' policy.
Graphic by Yeshiel Panchia
Chicken and the egg
The logic behind the concept introduced in 1984 was sound. In cases where animals are infected with a highly contagious disease, the government mandates their destruction to prevent further outbreaks. The argument for nil compensation is that infected animals have no market value and cannot be sold, making compensation unnecessary.
However, the government must balance the interests of farmers with public funds. Paying compensation for infected animals could create financial strain, especially in large-scale outbreaks – especially when financial sanctions were hurting the economy (in 1984).
To be fair, the 1986 amendment of the Animal Diseases Act provided for the possibility of compensation. So the move towards a 'nil compensation' policy for avian flu appears to be significantly influenced by the 2009 amendment to Regulation 30, which granted the director discretionary power over compensation amounts and the subsequent interpretation that diseased birds hold no value.
A blunt instrument
But this approach, cemented after the 2017 outbreak, has arguably done more harm than good. With no safety net, farmers have every reason not to report infections. The results? Delayed containment. Unregulated culls. And, in some cases, infected birds sold into the informal market.
That incentive structure came under legal fire last year when a George-based farmer took the state to court over a R32-million loss from 387,000 culled chickens and 5.39 million eggs destroyed in a 2021 outbreak. In a Western Cape Division of the High Court ruling, the judge ordered the agriculture department to reconsider the claim, using the value of the birds in a healthy state as the basis.
If enforced, it could open the door to billions in retroactive claims.
But enforcement is the key word. As of mid-2025, there's still no confirmation that the agriculture department has changed its stance – or that it will.
The future is viral
Steenhuisen's department wants vaccination to be the foundation of a future-proof poultry sector. Which is fair, but vaccines alone won't cut it, especially when half the threat is unaccounted for.
This is a virus that doesn't just travel across provinces. It migrates with birds, adapts, mutates and ignores borders. And the state's current selective vaccination, compensation and regulation playbook won't fix that.
The new Biosecurity Council could help coordinate a smarter response. There's cautious optimism that weekly negotiations between Sapa and the agriculture department might produce more realistic vaccination protocols.
The industry is pushing hard for a tiered, affordable system that doesn't just favour industrial-scale producers.
But unless H7 vaccines become available soon, and unless the state offers fair compensation and support for biosecurity upgrades, we're looking at a future where avian flu is endemic and chicken is a luxury item. DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
South Africa partially lifts poultry import ban from Brazil, producers rejoice
Poultry products producers and agriculture associations have welcomed the news by the Department of Agriculture to partially lift the ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from Brazil from Thursday. Image: supplied Poultry product producers and agriculture associations have welcomed the news by the Department of Agriculture that it has partially lifted the ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from Brazil from Thursday. The ban was imposed due to an outbreak of Avian flu in Brazil. The Department of Agriculture has since said that the ban has been contained to one state in Brazil. Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen announced that South Africa will partially lift the suspension on imports of all poultry and poultry products from Brazil, effective on Thursday. 'This decision follows the receipt of a second report from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, confirming that the outbreak has been contained to a single state,' Steenhuisen said. 'However, this partial lifting remains conditional and may be revoked if the outbreak is found to have spread to other states within Brazil.' Georg Southey, the manager at Merlog Foods, said this decision was a welcome and necessary move. 'The partial lifting of the import ban will be applied to all other states of Brazil, aside from the Rio Grande do Sul region, where the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, was detected mid-May," Southey said, "The decision to partially lift this ban could not have come at a more critical time. South Africa has been losing over 100 million meals per week due to the ban, putting pressure on food affordability and security, especially as Stats SA reports that up to 30% of households in some provinces face regular hunger.' Brazil supplies 95% of South Africa's mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a key ingredient in everyday staples like polony, viennas, and sausages. Southey explained that these affordable proteins are essential to school feeding schemes and low-income families, and no other country could fill the gap. He said, "I commend the Department and the Minister of Agriculture for responding swiftly to industry concerns and for engaging constructively with Brazilian authorities to implement a regionalisation protocol. By allowing imports from unaffected areas of Brazil to resume, this decision strikes a vital balance between biosecurity and national food needs.' Arnold Prinsloo, the CEO of Eskort, too welcomed the "speedy response from the government", but said South Africa was by no means out of the woods yet. 'Although the Department of Agriculture has agreed to a partial lifting of the suspension, the process is as follows: Brazil has to send a certificate to the government, and together they need to agree on legalities and wording," he said. Prinsloo explained that once that certificate is in place, South Africa can only then place orders to Brazil. Production has stopped in Brazil, so there will be a two-week lead time on production. Then orders will take six weeks to get to South Africa, and then one to two weeks to clear customs. 'Thus there will still be an impact on consumers and business and food security at large. We do have stock in place, but many of the smaller suppliers are in trouble and will remain so,' Prinsloo said. The South African Meat Processors Association (Sampra) also welcomed the announcement, saying it will avert significant shortages of affordable protein such as polony, viennas, and braai wors on South African shelves. Gordon Nicoll, the chairperson of Sampra, said, "We are grateful for the urgency displayed by the Department of Agriculture in averting the full-scale social and humanitarian crisis which the ban imposed on 16 May threatened to unleash. 'While it will take some time for imports of MDM to reach our shores, the situation could have been significantly worse.' Francois Rossouw, the CEO of Southern African Agri Initiative, said the decision by the Department reflects a much-needed shift towards a science-based and internationally aligned approach to managing animal health risks through regionalisation. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
How South Africa is strengthening biosecurity to tackle disease outbreaks
Agricultural Minister John Steenhuisen and UP Vice-Chancellor Professor Francis Petersen during the National Biosecurity Summit this month. Image: Supplied Major changes in how South Africa prevents and deals with outbreaks of plant and animal diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease, could be on the horizon. These include possible new biosecurity legislation, criminal prosecution of those who flout regulations and protocols, the introduction of a traceability system, and increasingly close collaboration among government, industry, academia, and civil society. These were among the longer-term solutions proposed by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen at the National Biosecurity Summit held at the University of Pretoria (UP) this month. The event took place against the backdrop of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga, which agricultural economists predict will cost the economy dearly unless the country responds proactively. Experts suggest that long-term solutions are key, rather than merely reacting when a plant or animal disease breaks out. The broader aim of the summit was to develop a new five-year national biosecurity strategy under the theme 'Collaborative actions for food security and trade'. 'Robust biosecurity has to be practised at all times, not just during a threat or disease outbreak,' said UP Vice-Chancellor Professor Francis Petersen. Steenhuisen was, meanwhile, open to introducing more agile legislation in the form of a dedicated biosecurity act with an offence code, and proposed working with the National Prosecuting Authority, Department of Justice, and the police to enforce laws and regulations. 'Biosecurity protocols are very important, but the laxity of enforcement has often led to people treating them as optional extras rather than as mandatory,' Steenhuisen said. He also noted that a recent animal auction at Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal had fuelled the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. 'We have taken a decision to pursue criminal charges against those individuals,' he said. His department is also going ahead with the introduction of a traceability system to monitor the movement of animals from 'farm to ship'. International markets demanded traceability, and South Africa had to move forward accordingly or risk languishing in the 'backwaters of international trade', he said. Emphasising the need for trust, transparency, and inclusivity to strengthen biosecurity in the country, Steenhuisen said it was crucial to work not only with big producers but also subsistence and small-scale farmers, including those on tribal trust and communal land. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, meanwhile, said biosecurity 'is the bedrock of anything we do in agriculture because we export about half of what we produce in this country'. He noted that the agricultural sector brings in R250 billion a year from exports, has R220 billion invested in bank loans, and employs about 1.3 million people. Sihlobo cautioned that in the current international trading environment, 'everyone is looking for anything to block your products from entering their country'. Biosecurity lapses could reinforce that trend, even for product lines not directly affected by a disease outbreak, he said. He added that non-tariff barriers will be the talk of the day in the next couple of years, and 'if you are a country that is consistently in the news about outbreaks, they will make things difficult for you.' He also warned that it is unlikely that domestic consumption can expand to compensate for any drop-off in exports of high-end products such as wine, grapes, and red meat. 'Domestic consumption levels are as good as they are going to get,' Sihlobo said, adding that it would be wrong to underestimate 'how badly the South African consumer is hurting'. Biosafety must therefore be front and centre of agricultural policy and practice, not just for animal health but also plant health, too, he said.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Bird flu: Government lifts ban on most chicken imports from Brazil
South Africa will on 19 June 2025 partially lift the import suspension of all poultry and poultry products from Brazil. South Africa is set to allow chicken imports from Brazilian states that do not have cases of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. An outbreak of the disease in one state of Brazil saw a blanket ban being imposed by South Africa, which left many fearing the consequences. The poultry industry was left divided by the ban. Others continuously put pressure on the Department of Agriculture to partially lift the ban, while others kept reassuring the public that there is no need to worry about a chicken shortage, as local producers can make up for the gap. However, the department has succumbed to the pressure and partially lifted the ban from Thursday, 19 June 2025. Chicken from Brazil allowed in SA In a statement shared with The Citizen, the department said the decision to partially lift the import ban on poultry came after it received a second report from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, detailing how Brazil contained the outbreak to one state. 'This partial lift may be withdrawn should the outbreak be found to have extended to other states within Brazil.' Brazil accounts for most of the chicken sold to South Africans. Had the ban lasted longer, it might have resulted in a chicken shortage and higher prices. ALSO READ: Bird flu brings foul times: Chicken shortage and price hike loom in South Africa Brazil is the largest importer of chicken The Department of Agriculture added that it will be joining other countries in partially lifting the ban on poultry imports, as Brazil exports to countries other than South Africa. The veterinary services of the department engaged with their Brazilian counterparts to determine the extent of the outbreak, the steps taken to contain it, and whether there were any other outbreaks on other farms or in other states. 'We are glad that a month after the outbreak was reported in Brazil, we have been able to assess and confirm that risks associated with the importation of poultry and poultry products from Brazil are insignificant. We are closely monitoring the situation,' added Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen. Safe to eat chicken from Brazil Georg Southey, Manager of Merlog Foods, told The Citizen the lifting of the ban does not pose a risk of introducing bird flu into the country. 'The agreement is based on a regionalisation approach, meaning imports will only come from Brazilian states (provinces) not affected by the outbreak. The outbreak occurred in just one state, Rio Grande do Sul, and imports from that area remain suspended. 'The next step is to update the relevant health certificates through the World Organisation for Animal Health. Once finalised, trade can resume safely with approved states. This is a sensible and science-led step to protect both public health and national food security.' 100 million meals per week lost He added that the decision to partially lift the ban comes at a perfect time, as South Africa has been losing more than 100 million meals per week since the ban was imposed. 'Brazil supplies 95% of our mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a key ingredient in everyday staples like polony, viennas, and sausages. These affordable proteins are essential to school feeding schemes and low-income families, and no other country could fill the gap,' added Southey. He emphasised that speed is crucial when it comes to food security. 'There are clear lessons to be learned from the time it took to lift the ban – lessons we must apply to expedite future decisions in similar crises.' ALSO READ: Will SA run out of beef and chicken? Animal disease hits SA's top producer — what it means for consumers 'Not out of the woods yet' Arnold Prinsloo, CEO of Eskort, told The Citizen that they welcome the speedy response from the government, but 'we are by no means out of the woods yet'. Eskort makes use of the MDM from Brazil to make polony, viennas, russians and braaiwors. He previously stated that the blanket ban on Brazilian imports would put production lines to a standstill before the end of June. 'Although the Department of Agriculture has agreed to a partial lifting of the suspension, the process is as follows: Brazil has to send a certificate to the government, and together they need to agree on the legalities and wording,' added Prinsloo. 'Once that certificate is in place, we can only then place orders to Brazil. Production has been halted in Brazil, resulting in a two-week lead time for production. 'Those orders will take six weeks to get here, and then one to two weeks to clear customs. Thus, there will still be an impact on consumers, businesses and food security at large.' Jobs safe The South African Meat Processors Association (SAMPA) also joined others in welcoming the news of the partial ban on Brazilian imports. Gordon Nicoll, chairperson of SAMPA, highlighted that the partial ban will help the manufacturing sector retain the hundreds of thousands of jobs reliant on imports of MDM. Prinsloo had previously warned that the ban would lead to job losses. 'We are grateful for the urgency displayed by the National Department of Agriculture in averting the full-scale social and humanitarian crisis which the ban imposed on 16 May threatened to unleash. 'While it will take some time for imports of MDM to reach our shores, the situation could have been a lot worse. We hope that this crisis will provide the blueprint for South African authorities should the remaining two poultry-producing regions of Brazil report HPAI outbreaks, so we can avoid any other breaks in supply in future,' added Nicoll. Local producers can fill the gap The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) was the only organisation that held the view that the blanket ban on chicken imports from Brazil would not cause a shortage. Izaak Breitenbach, CEO of Sapa's Broiler Organisation, said local producers can make up for the gap created by the ban, and highlighted that poultry products are not widely eaten during winter. 'We are currently producing about 21.5 million chickens per week, and the industry has the capacity to increase this by about another million birds per week.' The Citizen had not received a comment from Sapa about the partial lifting of the ban by the time of publishing. NOW READ: Bird flu: worry not, it is safe to eat eggs and chicken
