UP researchers join fight against avian flu

With four South African farms having been hit by the current bird flu outbreak, University of Pretoria (UP) researchers have joined the poultry industry and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to contain the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N8 variant of bird flu. Earlier this year, the first outbreak on South African soil was confirmed on a farm near Villiers, subsequently spreading to three other farms in Mpumalanga and Gauteng.