Grassroots efforts needed to prevent bird flu pandemic

Funmi Peter-Omale
Abuja

The United States government yesterday warned that the avian flu, popularly known as the bird flu, may mutate into a deadly pandemic worldwide and could end up claiming millions of lives globally, especially in developing countries.

The US leader of Delegation on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, Ambassador John Lange, stated this at a press briefing at the US Embassy, Abuja, yesterday.

Lange stated that the avian flu requires constant surveillance, which the US is trying to establish through broad-based cooperation to prevent an outbreak of the pandemic in case the avian virus mutates.

According to him, there is need for cooperative action to be taken down to the grassroots where many rural dwellers are exposed to the virus without knowledge of its deadly impact when they come in contact with chickens.

The ambassador, who has just attended an international avian influenza conference in Bamako, Mali, said concerns were raised on key countries in the world, which include Nigeria, Indonesia and Egypt.

He stated that the US government was working closely with the Nigerian government to develop a strategy, just as he commended Nigeria on the level of bio-security measures set up by a farm he visited in Kaduna State.

He said the avian flu was a blessing in disguise because it made people realise the importance of improving bio-security measures on farms. He therefore urged more global action against the influenza.

The six-man US team is in Nigeria to identify opportunities and constraints in combating the spread of bird flu in the country and appropriate strategies to support it to contain the disease.

He said further that his team had met with the Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Adamu Bello, and stakeholders from the Poultry Farmers' Associations and other international development partners in furtherance of the goal.

The US government last month announced the donation of $1m to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) office in Nigeria to help eradicate the disease.

The new grant complements previous support to Nigeria of more than $2m since the first reports of the presence of the disease in poultry farms in February.

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