Warning for people living in Cape Town

• Pilchard herpesvirus has been detected in sardines affected by a mass mortality event along the Western Cape coastline.
• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is investigating whether another environmental stressor may have triggered or worsened the deaths, with possible factors including harmful algae, low oxygen levels, and unusual oceanographic conditions.
• Residents are advised not to collect or eat the fish due to the presence of the virus, which cannot survive in other hosts.