Zimbabwe’s veterinary department has confirmed that several thousands of chickens have been killed following an outbreak of the avian influenza that was detected at a leading private poultry breeder.
“Irvin’s Zimbabwe advises its stakeholders that it has identified, and has contained a form of avian influenza on an isolated site that owns outside Harare”.
Irvin’s Zimbabwe, the country’s leading chicken breeder of the world leading broiler Cobb 500, said it had managed to contain the outbreak following the killing of the infected birds.
“Irvin’s, together with the Zimbabwe Veterinary Department have however responded by placing the affected site under quarantine and the entire flock that was affected has been culled and disposed of in accordance with relevant veterinary regulations,” the company said in a statement.
The Mozambican government has reacted by banning the import of all birds and their derivatives from Zimbabwe, following the outbreak.
The measure, announced by Mozambique National Veterinary Directive (DINAV), covers all domestic poultry, wild birds, day old chicks, hatching eggs, fresh meat from birds, and all derivatives intended for use in animal feed.
Bird flu, also called avian influenza, is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals. Most forms of the virus are restricted to birds.
H5N1 is the most common form of deadly bird flu.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), H5N1 was first discovered in humans in 1997 and has killed nearly 60 percent of those infected.
