South Africa’s largest broiler producer is expanding its programme to vaccinate breeder chickens against bird flu to two additional farms.

By Carien Kruger, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

Astral Foods became the first local producer to vaccinate chickens against bird flu, or avian influenza, when it began inoculating breeders at one of its Gauteng farms in July this year. That first phase covered about 5% of its breeder flock.

At a media briefing on Monday, 17 November, following the release of Astral’s annual results, CEO Gary Arnold announced that the Department of Agriculture had approved two of its Mpumalanga farms for vaccination on Friday, 14 November.

The company plans to start vaccinating birds on these farms next year so that they can develop immunity by the end of summer, ahead of winter.

Although bird flu used to appear mainly in winter, Arnold noted a concerning trend: Outbreaks are now occurring in other seasons as well, as seen recently in the United States and especially in the European Union.

Also read: Astral first in SA to vaccinate against bird flu

Astral is vaccinating its breeder flock with an imported vaccine targeting the H5N1 strain – the same strain responsible for outbreaks in Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West and the Western Cape over the past six months. Arnold added that H5N1 was also recently confirmed in chickens at a small-scale producer in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, which supplies the live market.

Once the parent stock on the two Mpumalanga farms has been vaccinated, 30% of Astral’s breeder flock will be protected – “good news for us,” Arnold said.

“This will help safeguard a larger portion of our breeder base. Up to now, no one in the poultry sector has received compensation for bird flu losses, and insurance cover is no longer available.”

Astral continues to prioritise strong biosecurity measures, which remain the first line of defence, followed by vaccination.

Also read: Bird flu vaccination: 11 important questions answered

No Blanket Vaccination

Arnold stressed that vaccination must be carried out in a controlled manner. “We do not support a blanket approach to vaccination. If vaccination isn’t properly regulated and monitored, it could harm the industry by allowing the disease to spread.” Proper monitoring and surveillance of vaccinated flocks, he said, is essential.

If Astral were to vaccinate its entire breeder flock, the cost would be roughly equal to the annual insurance premium the company previously paid for bird flu cover – around R20 million per year, Arnold said.

“We definitely won’t be vaccinating all our breeders. We must still maintain facilities approved for export. At this stage we are vaccinating parent stock, but not grandparent stock.”

Also read: Scientists identify genetic factors behind growing H9N2 avian flu threat to human health

Looking to Grow Export Opportunities

Astral is eager to export chicken meat if South Africa can reach agreement with the United Kingdom and Middle Eastern markets on export protocols. Only cooked chicken meat would qualify, as these markets need to minimise bird flu-related risks. Astral already has the capacity to supply cooked products, Arnold said, although initially only in small quantities.