Thai chicken destroyed
2004-01-26 18:21
Cape Town - Athorities have ordered the destruction of 50 tons of chicken imported from Thailand after the outbreak of bird flu in the southeast Asian country, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
Ministry spokesperson Steve Galane said the chicken breasts that had arrived at the Indian Ocean port of Durban at the weekend would be incinerated, while another 25 tons on their way to Cape Town would either have to go back to Thailand or be destroyed.
"Chicken from Asian countries that has been hit by avian influenza will not make its way into South African supermarkets," Galane told AFP.
He said the boneless chicken breasts had a low risk of containing the virus and were the only chicken products that South Africa imported from Thailand.
Thailand provides less than than 0.02% of the chicken consumed in South Africa.
After weeks of denials, Thailand admitted on Friday that bird flu had infected humans and chickens in the kingdom.
The South African government announced a ban on all chicken imports from Thailand after the admission, and for added safety made the ban retrospective to December 21.
In an effort to contain the epidemic that has hit at least eight Asian nations, almost 11 million chickens have been culled across 24 of Thailand's 76 provinces, mostly in the epicentre provinces of Suphan Buri and Kanchanaburi.
On Sunday the disease claimed the life of a six-year-old Thai boy, and is suspected to have already killed five adults in the southeast Asian country.