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Source: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/ag...spreads-to-five-more-oudtshoorn-ostrich-farms
Bird-flu outbreak spreads to five more Oudtshoorn ostrich farms
by John Harvey, June 18 2013, 14:02
A BIRD-flu outbreak in April at a farm near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape has spread to five other farms in the area.
The low-pathogenic H7N7 virus is not considered dangerous at this stage, although the farms have been quarantined as a precaution.
Pieter Koen, deputy director for animal health in the Western Cape department of agriculture, said on Tuesday that the strain had recently been identified on these farms but there was no need for panic.
"The virus has been spread by wild birds in the area, but the threat is not great," he said. "This does happen in the ostrich industry every winter..."
Bird-flu outbreak spreads to five more Oudtshoorn ostrich farms
by John Harvey, June 18 2013, 14:02
A BIRD-flu outbreak in April at a farm near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape has spread to five other farms in the area.
The low-pathogenic H7N7 virus is not considered dangerous at this stage, although the farms have been quarantined as a precaution.
Pieter Koen, deputy director for animal health in the Western Cape department of agriculture, said on Tuesday that the strain had recently been identified on these farms but there was no need for panic.
"The virus has been spread by wild birds in the area, but the threat is not great," he said. "This does happen in the ostrich industry every winter..."