REPORT ON HIGHLY PATHOGENIC NOTIFIABLE AVIAN INFLUENZA (HPNAI) SURVEILLANCE MONITORING BY SAPA FOR THE SURVEILLANCE PERIOD JANUARY 2011 TO JUNE 2011

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• OVERVIEW

SAPA, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) is participating in the national HPNAI surveys and are happy to report that we are negative for the H5N1 strain.  We can also say that we covered the majority of the producers in this survey. These surveys are done on a six monthly basis according to a prescribed protocol (see 2.1) and SAPA encourages all producers to participate in the surveys.

The past few years have seen a large emphasis on precautionary measures, disease surveillance and control, in order to reduce the likelihood of the incidence of HPNAI and minimise the impact of outbreaks when they do occur.

The spread of Avian Influenza elsewhere in the world remains of great concern, and South African producers remain on high alert as the threat of Avian Influenza also has the potential to reduce consumer demand.  Attached please find Appendix A, a brochure on Notifiable Avian Influenza, Government Preparedness Measures that was kindly written by Dr A.C.E. Pienaar, Chief State Veterinarian, Directorate Animal Health at the time.

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1.1       OFFICIAL REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

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For the official report-back on NAI Surveillance from the DAFF, kindly contact DAFF.

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• SAPA’s ROLE IN NAI SURVEILLANCE

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2.1       Co-operation with the Department of Agriculture

SAPA has agreed to give its full co-operation to the National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) re Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI) surveillance in the implementation of their control strategy for NAI. 

SAPA requested the co-operation of participants in their endeavours to structure surveillance reporting.  We adhere to the “Protocol for Compulsory Surveillance in South Africa to prove continued NAI Freedom” that was published in September 2005.  This document is available on request from SAPA’s offices or is downloadable from SAPA’s website, www.sapoultry.co.za. 

In the event of the introduction of the virus, a contingency plan is in place to attempt to rid the country of the virus. This plan was already drafted in April 2005 (revised in December 2005) and has been put to use in previous outbreaks of Avian Influenza (H5N2 subtype) as well as other animal diseases. The “Contingency Plan in case of an Outbreak of NAI in Poultry in South Africa” can be downloaded from SAPA’s website, www.sapoultry.co.za.

SAPA’s role in the control strategy for Avian Influenza involves the following:

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Updated database

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In order to determine the location and facilitate on immediate response to an outbreak and in the forming of Epidemiological groups, the DAFF requested that SAPA assists them in acquiring information on the whereabouts of poultry farms.  See Appendix A for the input sheet to update/edit the database.

1. Surveillance monitoring

Ongoing testing is to be carried out and each property with chickens must be tested at least twice a year. Testing periods run from January to June and again from July to December every year.

SAPA recorded testing periods every six months since 2006.  See Appendix B for the input sheet for results of surveillance testing.

• SAPA contact details

 

Silverpath Consulting has been contracted by SAPA to contact poultry farmers located in South Africa.  Mrs Christel van der Merwe, from Silverpath Consulting will be conducting the surveys.  She can be contacted at 079 871 9085 during working hours or e-mail: christelvdm@mweb.co.za. 

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2.2       SAFE TO EAT

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“Safe to Eat”  -  Protecting the Consumer, the Industry and South Africa from Avian Influenza [bird flu]

• Why do we need the AI campaign?

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Plan, Practice and Prevent

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As has been shown in Europe, Asia and the USA, an AI outbreak will similarly be devastating for the SA poultry and egg industry in a number of ways:
•           There will be a real impact on the availability of chicken and eggs as quarantine and culling will be used to prevent the spread of the disease, whether it be regional or national
•           A rapid decline in sales of chicken, processed poultry products and eggs – or said differently – there will be a likely shortage of food in the form of chicken products

• There will be a severe financial impact for producers and retailers through the destruction of flocks to contain the disease

As consumer behaviour is largely governed by perception, if perceptions are inaccurate and misinformed [by the press or social media], the reactions will be too. Consumers respond to fear in a rational way and will most likely move to not buying chicken and eggs.  The reality though is that properly-prepared poultry, poultry products and eggs are safe to eat regardless of whether AI is present. Most strains of bird flu (or avian influenza to give it its scientific name) are relatively harmless to their natural bird hosts and do not infect humans - this sort being known as low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). Avian influenza is an animal influenza virus poorly adapted to humans, and does not infect humans easily, and certainly not at low dose exposure.
Those humans at risk are those with close direct contact with ill infected birds. Presence of a virus does not equal risk to human health, especially with a virus that does not infect humans easily.

The Safe to Eat campaign will proactively manage, influence and control public perceptions once an outbreak of AI occurs - or is imminent - by educating, informing and reassuring the public that SA poultry, poultry products and eggs are, quite literally, safe to eat.

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• What is the AI Campaign?

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Protecting the Industry

Safe to Eat will not raise the profile or communicate on issues around AI before an outbreak. However, once an outbreak has occurred, is imminent or has been detected in neighbouring states, the campaign aims to:
• Protect the consumer
• Protect the industry
• Protect the poultry brands
• Protect the retailer
• Protect the profits

Safe to Eat is a comprehensive and detailed campaign that includes through-the-line elements.

These include:
• Crisis Communications
• Media Relations
• Print Advertisements
• Information Booklets and Fliers
• Point of Sale and in-store materials
• Radio Advertisements

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• Safe to Eat Campaign Elements

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Through the Line

Crisis Communications

To correctly manage public perceptions, all media enquiries on AI are channelled through SAPA as the first port of call.  An identified and media-trained Crisis Communications Team will deal with broadcast and print media calmly, professionally and authoritatively.  Holding statements have been prepared.

Media Relations

A multi-faceted approach targets the media through regular ‘meet & greet’, press conferences, information briefings and press releases.

‘Safe to Eat’ Above and Below the line

The public will be addressed through pre-prepared educational advertorials, ads and Q&A’s in print media supported by radio because of its wide reach and efficient cost.

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These include:
• Educational ‘Asked and Answered’ fliers
• ‘Safe to Eat’ print media advertisements
• ‘Safe to Eat’ fliers for inserts and Point of Sale
• ‘Safe to Eat’ radio spots in several official languages
• ‘Safe to Eat’ in-store hangers
• ‘Safe to Eat’ stickers for product
• ‘Safe to Eat’ artwork for incorporation into package design.

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2.2.4    When should the AI campaign begin?

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A Reactive Response

It is important to emphasise that Safe to Eat is a reactive campaign that aims to deal with an outbreak or imminent outbreak of AI. The objective is to manage and control perceptions of the disease and its effects and not to create publicity or awareness locally where none currently exists.
The only authority that can confirm the presence of AI is the SA National Department of Agriculture. Until such notification has been received and made public, DO NOT initiate any aspects or elements of this campaign without the prior approval of the Southern African Poultry Association.

This approval will not be given until AI is found to be present in South Africa or that a realistic expectation exists that it will reach the country’s shores. SAPA co-operates closely with the SA National Department of Agriculture in thoroughly surveying the country for traces of AI, and a joint database is maintained.

If a situation arises surrounding AI, in terms of international protocols, the SA National Department of Agriculture will announce the detection of this disease. Farms will then be divided into geographical units, which will be certified free of AI. Only farms and facilities certified in this fashion are permitted to use the Safe to Eat campaign elements.
Only once AI has been detected in SA, or is imminent, may any aspect of this campaign be implemented.

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2.2.5    How to Implement the Safe to Eat campaign

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Be Prepared

For the greater good of all poultry producers in South Africa, the campaign elements may only be used or incorporated into packaging once the trademark agreement has been signed and returned to SAPA. While the elements, especially with regard to co-branding, may be different for producers, retailers or quick service outlets for example, the mechanisms for use are detailed in the User Manual.

Given the speed with which an outbreak can occur, it is strongly suggested that producers and retailers, who intend to include the Safe to Eat logo in their packaging, proactively prepare for this eventuality now by producing the necessary artwork which can be implemented with a minimum of delay. All pre-prepared artwork should be sent to Redline, a division of DraftFCB, for prior approval. 

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3.     RESULTS OF NAI SURVEILLANCE MONITORING

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• RESULTS OF FIRST SEMESTER OF 2011 

The routine surveillance program has been in place for more than four years, and importantly chickens have at all times remained negative for Highly Pathogenic Notifiable Avian Influenza (HPNAI).  SAPA has completed the surveillance monitoring for January 2011 to June 2011.

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3.1.1    ESTIMATED CENSUS OF CHICKENS IN SOUTH AFRICA

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From the models that are used to determine the Broiler- and Egg Industry’s potential production figures, it can be derived that at the end of June 2011 there were an average of 140 million chickens at any given time in South Africa.  See the table below for a layout in terms of broiler- and layer birds:

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Table 1:  Estimated Census of Chickens in South Africa

Broiler GGP's & GP's	400 000	*
Broiler parents in rearing	3 202 000
Broiler parents in lay	6 409 000
Broiler rearing	97 148 000
TOTAL BROILER INDUSTRY		107 159 000
Commercial Layer GP's	300 000	*
Layer replacement pullets	8 176 470
Commercial Layers	24 126 000
TOTAL EGG INDUSTRY		32 602 470
TOTAL INDUSTRY		139 761 470
		* Estimate

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• PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF EGG AND BROILER BIRDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The provincial distribution of chicken farms per type of farm as reported by participants is depicted in the table below.  These figures were actually recorded:

Table 2:  PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHICKENS IN SA

For the purposes of this report, in order to keep participants’ information confidential, the Northern Cape and Western Province will be considered as one province

 

	BROILER INDUSTRY		EGG INDUSTRY		TOTAL
PROVINCE	TOTAL BROILER BIRDS	% OF BROI-LERS	TOTAL LAYER BIRDS	% OF LAYERS	TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRDS	% OF TOTAL BIRDS
EASTERN CAPE	7 072 887	6.6%	911 426	3.4%	7 984 313	5.9%
FREE STATE	5 657 563	5.3%	4 561 812	17.0%	10 219 375	7.6%
GAUTENG	6 224 377	5.8%	6 610 998	24.7%	12 835 375	9.6%
KWAZULU-NATAL	16 099 842	15.0%	4 086 989	15.3%	20 186 831	15.0%
LIMPOPO	2 557 200	2.4%	1 542 903	5.8%	4 100 103	3.1%
MPUMALANGA	21 221 288	19.7%	1 231 839	4.6%	22 453 127	16.7%
NORTH WEST	25 877 752	24.0%	2 585 161	9.7%	28 462 913	21.2%
WESTERN AND NORTHERN CAPE	22 898 800	21.3%	5 229 426	19.5%	28 128 226	20.9%
TOTAL	107 609 709	100.0%	26 760 554	100.0%	134 370 263	100.0%
% OF TOTAL	80.1%		19.9%		100.0%

The total number of farms that reported NAI surveillance was:            NUMBER OF FARMS
Total number of layer farms, incl. layer breeders, layer rearing farms                                257
Total number of broiler farms, incl. broiler breeders                                                             617
Total number of farms                                                                                                           874

For this surveillance period the layer farms surveyed increased by 2 farms.  To the broiler farms surveyed 9 farms were added due to new farms that were acquired by producers.  In total 11 farms were added to the total recorded in the previous semester. 

On the chart 1 below, the total number of chickens per province is shown.  The labels show the province name, then the total number of chickens in the province as at 30 June 2011 and then the percentage of chickens in that province.  The source of the information is the participants in the NAI survey.  Although records are updated regularly, contract growers especially vary considerably.

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Chart 1: PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHICKENS IN SOUTH AFRICA

1. Percentage representation of the NAI Surveillance monitor in terms of the industry in South Africa.

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Table 3:  Percentage representation of NAI Survey

	NAI Survey	Estimated Total	% that NAI Survey
	– number of birds	number of birds (census)	represents
BROILER INDUSTRY	107 609 709	107 159 000	+100%
EGG INDUSTRY	26 760 554	32 602 470	82,1%
TOTAL INDUSTRY	134 370 263	139 761 470	96,1%

 

MAP 1:  VOLUME DISTRIBUTION OF CHICKENS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Chart 2: PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LAYER AND BROILER BIRDS IN SOUTH AFRICA SORTED ACCORDING TO TOTAL NUMBER OF BIRDS IN DESCENDING ORDER

MAP 2: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CHICKENS OF SAPA MEMBERS IN SA

1. PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF BROILER FARMS

Chart 3:  PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF BROILERS IN SOUTH AFRICA IN ASCENDING ORDER

1. PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LAYER FARMS

Chart 4: PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF LAYERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

• DISTRIBUTION OF FARMS ACCORDING TO CENSUS

Table 4:  THE DISTRIBUTION OF FARMS ACCORDING TO THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF BIRDS ON THE FARMS

VOLUME NUMBER OF BIRDS FROM	VOLUME NUMBER OF BIRDS TO	TOTAL NUMBER OF FARMS
700 000	MORE THAN 900,000	15
600 000	699 999	9
500 000	599 999	12
400 000	499 999	25
300 000	399 999	61
200 000	299 999	124
100 000	199 999	168
90 000	99 999	29
80 000	89 999	23
70 000	79 999	27
60 000	69 999	30
50 000	59 999	45
40 000	49 999	63
30 000	39 999	52
20 000	29 999	41
15 000	19 999	19
10 000	14 999	18
5 000	9 999	27
100	4 999	86
	TOTAL:	874

SOURCE:  farms reported on by survey participants. 

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4.     CHALLENGES

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The past few years have seen a large emphasis on precautionary measures, disease surveillance and control, in order to reduce the incidence of NAI and minimise the impact of outbreaks when they do occur.

The surveillance monitoring in the poultry industry is enormous and complex.  The following challenges remain critical:

• To reduce the likelihood of the incidence of NAI and minimise the impact of outbreaks when they do occur.
• Our biggest challenge is to contact poultry farmers who are not SAPA members. In the past letters were sent to all new leads on our database in an effort to get more information. We’re hoping that SAPA members will be willing to help us get contact details of poultry farmers in their direct vicinity. 

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5.         GENERAL

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We need to thank the various role-players, who have ensured the successful functioning of the surveillance monitoring over the last years. Sincere  thanks to Christel van der Merwe and Ida Swanepoel for their contributions.    To all participants, thank you for your patience and co-operation, which enabled us to complete the survey up to June 2011.  We are looking forward to your co-operation during the following six months, i.e. the July 2011 to December 2011 surveillance monitor.

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