A highly contagious strain of bird flu has been confirmed at two more locations in SA, bringing the total of affected farms to four. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries confirmed on Tuesday that the two farms, all involved in commercial layer chickens, are in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. The outbreak was first confirmed in June at another two farms in Mpumalanga. The affected farms were subsequently placed under quarantine, and the birds were culled and eggs destroyed. Department spokeswoman Bomikazi Molapo said that the two latest farms to be affected have been placed under quarantine by the state veterinarian. The quarantine includes, as a minimum, a prohibition of the movement of chickens and chicken products onto and off the farm. "The necessary measures have been taken to contain and eliminate the disease as efficiently as possible on both farms," she said. "Forward tracing was done and cull chicken depots were identified, which had received live cull chickens from...
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