Five of the country’s nine provinces have been affected by the 50 HPAI H7 and 10 HPAI H5 subtypes of the virus, the department of agriculture said in a statement on Monday.

It added that the process of getting a vaccine had been fast-tracked because of the inherent risk of the disease spreading to humans.

"Due to the high probability of avian influenza virus mutating and becoming zoonotic, care needs to be taken on the quality and efficacy parameters of the vaccine chosen for use in this exercise," the department added.

Gauteng province is hardest hit by the virulent HPAI H7 strain while the Western Cape is grappling with the majority of HPAI H5 outbreak.

Astral Foods, South Africa's largest poultry producer, warned last week of a shortage of eggs and poultry meat in the coming months due to the bird flu outbreak and impact of power cuts on the poultry industry.