The Western Cape government has confirmed that there are no New Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) infections in the province.
MEC for Economic Opportunities,Alan Winde says there’s been no new confirmed cases since the last update on 16 November 2017.
There are currently 68 confirmed cases of HPAI in the Western Cape.
There have been no new infections at commercial poultry farms since 18 October.
MEC Winde says they are positive about the situation: “State vets are working with farms to disinfect their chicken houses so that they can start restocking. Common practice is for sentinel birds to be placed in houses as a method of detecting any trace of the virus. Some farms are already testing sentinels, and early reports show that they remain virus-free. While I am happy with this progress, restocking is not a process that must be rushed. If we rush it, we run the risk of reinfection, and the need to cull again.”
Since the outbreak, eggs have become more expensive.
In terms of the impact on food prices, Statistics South Africa and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) have analysed average egg prices.
The price of a 18 eggs went from R38,42 in September 2017, to R42,66 in October 2017.
Next month, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy will release its detailed impact assessment.