In South Africa, SAPA Supports Continued Poultry Imports from Brazil

According to the South African Ministry of Agriculture's statement dated 28 October, Brazil reported the outbreak to South Africa on 20 October. The ministry stated that current veterinary health certificates and the daily trade in fresh poultry meat, incubation eggs and chicks could continue under certain conditions. Fresh meat must come from businesses with no recorded NCD cases in the previous six months and no disease within a 10-kilometre radius. Slaughterhouses and dismemberment facilities must also be located outside the infected area.

For incubation eggs and daily chicks, businesses must be located outside the infected area and must have remained free of disease for the previous 12 months. Breitenbach said South Africa does not import these two products from Brazil and has sufficient breeding stock hens to sustain normal production. The country imports approximately 18,000 tonnes of poultry meat per month from Brazil, although it has not been disclosed how much of this volume originates from Santa Catarina. SAPA reported that native poultry have been vaccinated against NCD and does not expect any issues in either large or small producers.