Mozambique: Certification as bird flu-free expected in April

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Mozambique: Certification as bird flu-free expected in April

4:58 CAT | 14 Feb 2024

File photo: AIM

Mozambique has not registered any cases of bird flu since October and plans to finalise the process of certifying the elimination of the disease in April, the national director of Livestock Development, Américo da Conceição, told Lusa on Tuesday.

According to Conceição, the country has not registered any cases of bird flu since the outbreak at a private unit in Morrumbene, Inhambane province, in October: “It was the only outbreak, we’ll have to do another test to send to the World Organisation for Animal Health, to declare the country free. Two to three months at the most.

To be considered free of the disease, a country must fulfil a minimum period of six months without cases.

“The last confirmed case was in the Morrumbene district in October. Since then, no other cases have been detected. It was in a private unit, which was quarantined and is being repopulated with sentinel birds which show whether there is any danger still. In a fortnight’ time the unit will be declared free and normal restocking can take place,” added Américo da Conceição.

At issue is the bird flu diagnosed in October at a production unit in the Mozambican province of Inhambane, in the centre of the country, which led to the slaughter of 45,000 laying hens that produced around 44,000 eggs daily for consumption, a case linked to dozens of outbreaks of two different strains that spread during the same period in neighbouring South Africa.

READ: Mozambique starts cull of more than 35000 chickens in Morrumbene to stem bird flu spread

“We had closed the entry of all poultry products from the whole of South Africa since October. As of 23 January, we lifted restrictions on the import of frozen poultry from compartmentalised areas free of avian influenza. We have also opened up authorisation for the import of poultry products such as consumer eggs, respecting all international standards,” added the national director.

However, these imports require testing for avian influenza at the source and on arrival in Mozambique.

During the period of the ban on the import of poultry products from South Africa – which caused the prices of eggs and chickens to skyrocket in the Maputo markets – large quantities of frozen eggs and chickens were also seized, especially in the south of Mozambique, in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane, acknowledged Américo da Conceição.

South Africa has slaughtered around 2.5 million chickens in an effort to contain dozens of outbreaks of two different strains of bird flu, threatening an already struggling industry, the South African government announced on 3 October.

Maputo province, which borders South Africa, is among the main producers, with a production capacity of 3.9 million hens and 942 million eggs a week, according to official figures.

Source: Lusa