Africa’s urbanisation increases risks of avian influenza pandemics

Growing urban populations in Africa increase demand for protein intake, which in many global regions is most easily produced by large scale poultry production in rural areas. But the long value chains modern poultry production creates increase opportunities for biosecurity lapses. With avian flu outbreaks already common in the global North and South, the risk of zoonotic transmission and a human health pandemic indicates why large-scale poultry production should be regulated and the potential for harm to human health kept under surveillance.