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Friday, May 20, 2011

EU helps as S. Africa ostrich farms hit by bird flu

Yahoo Health hosted AFP News, on bird flu outbreak in South African ostrich farms, excerpt :

" The European Commission has sent animal health experts to South Africa to help authorities there contain an avian flu outbreak that has put a halt to ostrich meat exports.

The emergency veterinary team arrived on Wednesday, following the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in ostrich farms in the Western Cape province, the commission said Thursday.

The outbreak was first detected on April 9 in Klein Karoo Valley and in the following weeks the disease "spread further in the area endangering the local ostrich population that is kept for meat production," it said.

The disease has not had any public health impact but it has had a major effect on animal welfare as well as "serious economic effects on the local rural population," the European Union's executive arm said."

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