Bird flu outbreak hits Western Cape seabirds. Experts urge public to be vigilant: ‘DO NOT handle sick or dead birds!’

Lester Kiewit speaks with Dr David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob). 

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below:

A highly contagious strain of avian influenza has reached the Western Cape, raising alarm among conservationists and public health officials. 

Sanccob has confirmed that wild seabird populations, including Hartlaub’s Gulls and Great White Pelicans, are being affected, with cases reported near Cape Town, Malmesbury, and Robben Island.

"We're constantly counting and the numbers change every day... but we've had over 100 cases that have been confirmed, most of them are the Hartlaub's Gull, small seagulls concentrated on Robben Island... but all over the Cape Town area we have been getting calls from the public, people finding sick and dead birds." 

- Dr David Roberts, clinical veterinarian - Sanccob

This marks the first wild bird outbreak in the province since April 2024.

In July, a poultry outbreak involving farmed ducks near Paarl led to the culling of affected animals to limit the spread.

"The risk is low, but there have been human cases, most of them mild, but there are also severe ones. We are urging members of the public to please not handle any sick or dead birds and rather call the correct authorities, and anyone who does handle birds, to wear protective clothing..."

- Dr David Roberts, clinical veterinarian - Sanccob

Infected birds may appear unusually tame, disoriented, or show signs of neurological distress such as twitching or seizures.

"This has had a devastating effect on wild bird populations all over the world, and where it does hit colonies that are nesting close together, there can be population-level effects. In some places, they've lost half the breeding population of certain species. We haven't seen that in South Africa this year, but for example, in 2021, a similar disease outbreak killed about 10% to 20% of our endangered Cape cormorants in about four months. So, if it gets bad, and it does have an outbreak like that, it can have a horrible effect, especially with endangered species." 

- Dr David Roberts, clinical veterinarian - Sanccob

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.