Zimbabwe’s health authorities, who have been on high alert for bird flu since October, had their worst fears confirmed when two farms reported outbreaks in the south of the country this week.
Initial tests show that the strain of the virus on the farms in Nyamandlovu and Bubi is of the H5N2 type. This strain is the less virulent cousin of the H5N1 virus that has plagued Europe and killed 60 people in South-East Asia since 2003.
Poultry and ostrich exports have been suspended with immediate effect and head of veterinary services in Zimbabwe Stuart Hargreaves confirmed to state daily The Herald that all ostrich farms were under quarantine.
Suspension of exports and culling are exercises that the ever-shrinking Zimbabwean economy can ill afford. Agricultural activity is at an all-time low following the controversial land seizures that began in 2000.
An ostrich farmer, Michelle Logan, told a news agency that the bird flu outbreak could sound the death knell for the industry that was the chief cornerstone of the Zimbab-wean economy.
”Industry-wise this is desperate,” she said. She added that the industry has been experiencing vaccine shortages because they could not access forex. ”If the outbreak is not contained, our ostrich population could be decimated,” she said
Only about 10 ostrich farmers remain out of about 64 who were there before the land expropriations began in 2000.
Additional reporting by Sapa-AFP