{ ostrich avian flu epidemic }

I normally get really excited when I see Oudtshoorn, my adopted town, in the news. Festivals such as the KKNK and Klein Karoo Klassique normally make a national appearance, but generally it takes something extreme for such a small town to make it's onto the 7 o'clock bulletin.

Sadly, this time its bad news. The first case of the H5N2 virus was detected on one ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn in April this year, resulting in the culling of approx. 5 000 birds in one week in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Luckily, the virus is not harmful to humans, but the head count is now standing at 25 000 birds culled since April! There are renewed calls for Oudtshoorn Business Chamber to find a solution to contain the aivan flu outbreak after three new cases were detected in the last week, two near Volmoed and one just outside Oudtshoorn. 

As a result of the virus a ban on the export of ostrich meat has been implemented since April. For every month of the ban South Africa is losing R108 million in direct income! Per month. 

Even the trained ostriches at the Highgate Farm which are used for rides and ostrich racing, have had to be culled.  The avian flu and the ban on exports are having wide reaching social and economic impacts due to the dominance of the ostrich trade in the local tourism and farming industries - Oudtshoorn, which already struggles with increasing poverty, may be facing a massive unemployment crisis if the H5N2 virus persists. In such a small town this could have tragic consequences... 

Images: Ostrich Chicks, Ostrich Riders