General

BREAKING NEWS: Bird flu outbreak hits Zimbabwe

June 2, 2017

An outbreak of highly infectious H5N8 bird flu has hit a commercial poultry farm in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East province, killing almost 8 000 chickens and leading to the culling of 75 000 birds.

Unesu Hildah Ushewokunze-Obatolu, a veterinary surgeon and principal director in the Department of Livestock and Veterinary Services, said the infected farm, in the Lanark area, about 90 kilometres south-east of Harare, has two million broiler and layer chickens.

The outbreak could harm Zimbabwe’s poultry industry, which recorded a 1% slump in 2016 after producing 74,8 million broiler day-old chicks.

“The affected farm has eight separately managed sites which are at least one kilometre apart. One of the eight sites was affected, a parent breeding unit for broilers with 83 000 birds. A total of 3 045 birds died within a week at this site,” she said.

She described the cause of the disease as a “highly pathogenic avian influenza virus”. Tests conducted at Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in South Africa on 29 May and June 1 confirmed the disease.


The outbreak could harm Zimbabwe’s poultry industry, which recorded a 1% slump in 2016 after producing 74,8 million broiler day-old chicks. The disease could also spread to neighbouring countries – with devastating consequences for the regional economy.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are no documented cases of the bird flu virus infecting humans. But the WHO says although the risk of human infection is low, it cannot be ruled out.