Nigeria reports bird flu

Deadly bird flu strain found in Nigeria

July 02 2006 at 01:48PM

Kano, Nigeria - The most lethal strain of bird flu has been detected in the eastern Nigerian state of Taraba, bringing to 15 the number of states, out of a total of 36, to be affected by the virus, a state official said Saturday.

"Last week an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in Ibbi local government area and it has spread to Gassol," said Yusuf Sanda, a spokeman for the state governor. "So far 20 farms have been infected and chickens killed.

"The case has been taken over by the federal ministry of agriculture for containment and culling," he said.

"The state government has set up a committee to look into the ways and means to assist the farmers. Veterinary experts have been sent to these area to ascertain the damage and the extent of the spread."

The presence of the H5N1 virus was confirmed by a laboratory of the National Institute of Veterinary Research at Vom after tests on samples provided by three local government departments in Tabara, which lies on the border with northern Cameroon.

Bird flu has been detected in several northern Nigerian states and in the federal Nigerian capital Abuja.

Nore than 450 000 chickens have already been slaughtered in Nigeria, mainly in the north where the disease was detected last February for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to Nigeria, three other west African countries - Ivory Coast, Niger and Burkina Faso - have reported cases of the disease.

So far no country in sub-Saharan Africa has registered cases of human contamination.

West African ministers last month adopted a plan for fighting the outbreak of the deadly avian influenza in the region and preventing its spread to humans.

The plan, which includes setting up an emergency fund, was agreed at the end of a one-day meeting in Nigeria organised by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) of ministers in charge of agriculture, health, livestock, environment and integration. - Sapa-AFP