Conservationists reinforce biosecurity in response to bird flu outbreak

The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) said it has reinforced biosecurity protocols in response to an outbreak of Avian Influenza.

The virus spread to the Western Cape in July and has affected wild seabirds along South Africa’s coastline.

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Several cases of bird flu were recently confirmed in African penguins.

According to SANCCOB, the critically endangered African penguin has seen a dramatic decline in population numbers, as the species faces multiple threats.

The clinical veterinarian for SANCOBB, David Roberts, said that currently, the number of infected penguinsis low, but the outbreak is still concerning

“SANCCOB is increasing our biosecurity measures to ensure that our rehabilitation centres are protected, and to reduce the chance that the birds in our care are affected. To do this, we are quarantining and testing all newly admitted cases before we introduce them to our hospitals.”

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