South Africa reports H5N1 bird flu on poultry farms, international agency says
FILE PHOTO: Test tubes are seen labelled \"Bird Flu\" words in this illustration taken, June 10, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
PARIS - South Africa has reported the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, on two poultry farms in the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Wednesday.
The cases were the first in South Africa since September last year, Paris-based WOAH said in a notification.
South Africa's poultry sector has been recovering from an outbreak in 2023 that led to the loss of a third of the national chicken flock. The industry has been wary of a resurgence of the diseases amid criticism of the rollout of a government vaccination programme.
Bird flu has ravaged poultry flocks worldwide in recent years, including in the United States, and top poultry exporter Brazil this year reported its first known case on a commercial farm.
In South Africa, the new outbreaks killed 1,150 poultry birds on the affected firms, Paris-based WOAH said, citing South African authorities.
This included 300 birds killed on a farm in Tswaing in North West province and 850 birds that died on a farm in Mkhondo in Mpumalanga province. REUTERS
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PHOTO: NUS Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, a nephrologist by training who was dean from 1997 to 2000, made major reforms to the school's curriculum with an emphasis on research. He later continued his push to make both the school and the National University of Singapore research-intensive in his roles as the university's senior deputy president (2004 to 2008) and president (2008 to 2017). The Government's Biomedical Sciences Initiative in 2000 also fuelled Singapore's research boom. NUS Medicine started recruiting the best scientists they could find and establishing international research collaborations. The school geared up to attract global talent, aiming for better funding opportunities, developing world-class infrastructure, and fostering collaborations across academia, healthcare and industry. In 2005, it received $100 million from the Yong Loo Lin Trust – the largest single donation to a tertiary institution by a private donor. This was Professor John Wong's doing, said Prof Chong. Prof Wong, an oncologist-haematologist, was dean from 2003 to 2011. Professor Yeoh Khay Guan, who was dean from 2011 to 2018, strengthened the clinician-scholar and clinician-scientist tracks. A noted researcher, he was listed among the world's top 2 per cent of scientists by Stanford University in 2023 in the field of clinical medicine. One of his most prominent research projects is the Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium, which has made several breakthrough discoveries in diagnosing the cancer early. Prof Yeoh, who is a gastroenterologist, currently holds the position of chief executive at NUHS. Prof Chong has moved the school into its fourth phase: to transform the practice of medicine to focus more on preserving health rather than just treating illness. As the school celebrates 120 years, he hopes his legacy as dean will be to have made a difference that matters. For him, this means making the school the best in terms of understanding and treating Asians, and for the doctors it trains to practise intellectual flexibility, be technology-savvy and have lifelong curiosity. From wooden hut to top 20 in the world In 120 years, NUS Medicine has grown from providing basic medical care to becoming a research-intensive medical school focused on cutting-edge medicine. 1821 Singapore's first general hospital is an unsanitary small wooden building near the junction of Bras Basah and Stamford roads, offering basic treatments. 1905 A new school of medicine to train locals opens at Sepoy Lines (the current site of the Singapore General Hospital) with 23 students. Merchants led by Mr Tan Jiak Kim and Mr Seah Liang Seah raise $87,000 in 1905 and another $120,000 in 1912. The Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, Sepoy Lines. PHOTO: NUS 1910 Seven local medical students are the first to obtain Licentiates in Medicine and Surgery. The Magnificent 7 become assistant medical officers or assistant surgeons, earning a lowly $250 a month. A pioneering class with a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery standing behind teachers. PHOTO: NUS 1911 Ms Eugenie Nunes becomes the first woman graduand, but she returns to Pakistan on graduating. 1912 Physiology is the first professorial chair to be set up. 1916 A medical students' hostel is set up to accommodate students from Malaya. 1932 Asians, considered inferior by the colonial government, are finally allowed to take positions in the Straits Settlements Medical Service. Mid-1930s Dr Gopal Haridas is the first local graduate to receive further training in England and admitted as a member of the Royal College of Physicians. Dr Michael Thiruchelvam is the first local graduate to obtain higher qualification in surgery. 1936 A huge bungalow on Grange Road, called Holne Chase, is converted into a hostel for 30 female students. 1941-1945 During World War II, more than 200 medical students join the Medical Auxiliary Service and are deployed to hospitals and first aid posts, often working 18 hours a day. 1942 Tan Tock Seng Hospital is bombed on Feb 13, killing medical student Yoong Tatt Sin. Another 10 medical students are killed the following day at his funeral. The medical school closes. 1946 The King Edward VII College of Medicine reopens on June 17, following the war. About 200 pre-war students return to complete their studies. King Edward VII College of Medicine. PHOTO: NUS 1950 The newly formed University of Malaya confers the first Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) on 17 graduates at the Bukit Timah campus. 1957 The Academy of Medicine is founded, paving the way for formal postgraduate training and continuing education. 1962 Singapore establishes the University of Singapore, with Professor Kangaratnam Shanmugaratnam as the medical school's dean. Professor Kangaratnam Shanmugaratnam. PHOTO: NUS 1980 The university officially becomes the National University of Singapore, in Kent Ridge, after a merger with Nanyang University. 1983 The Faculty of Medicine relocates from Sepoy Lines to Kent Ridge. 1985 The University Hospital (precursor to the National University Hospital) is set up as a government-owned hospital run as a self-governing entity. This is the model for all public hospitals today. 1994 The National Medical Research Council is set up to oversee, coordinate and approve funds for medical research. The White Coat Ceremony is introduced to induct medical students into the fraternity. Faculty members help incoming students don their first white coats, a symbol of physicians. A White Coat Ceremony held in 2024. PHOTO: NUS 2002 The government-imposed quota of no more than a third of medical students be women is lifted, resulting in an immediate jump in female students to 43 per cent of intake in 2003. 2005 Duke-NUS Medical School is set up. So is the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, with a $30 million gift from the Lee Foundation. The Faculty of Medicine is renamed the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine on the school's centenary with a $100 million gift from the Yong Loo Lin Trust. 2008 The National University Health System (NUHS, below) is established to integrate and improve education, research and the provision of healthcare. The NUHS Tower Block at Kent Ridge Road in a photo taken on June 17, 2025. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO 2011 A $30 million donation from NUS alumnus Professor Saw Swee Hock (below) leads to the setting up of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Professor Saw Swee Hock. PHOTO: ST FILE 2012 The 15-storey Centre for Translational Medicine is officially opened. The Silent Mentors programme is initiated, with students taught to treat donated cadavers with utmost respect. 2014 The Centre for Biomedical Ethics is designated a World Health Organisation collaborating centre – the first in Asia and 5th in the world. 2019 School ranked among top 20 in the world – a ranking it maintains today. The NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Building on Medical Drive in a photo taken on July 17, 2019. PHOTO: ST FILE 2025 Yong Loo Lin Medical School celebrates 120 years.
