Bird flu spreads to new state in northern Nigeria
Source: Reuters
By Farouk Umar ADIYA FARM, Nigeria, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Veterinary officials in white protective suits and masks culled thousands of chickens at a farm in the far northwestern Nigerian state of Sokoto after bird flu was detected there for the first time. The detection of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza in Sokoto means the disease is or has been present in 17 of Nigeria's 36 states and in the Federal Capital Territory. The officials sprayed chemicals to kill more than 21,000 chickens at Adiya farm, about 10 miles (16 km) from the state capital, while labourers wearing no protective equipment dug a pit to bury the birds. The first African country to be hit by bird flu, Nigeria has not reported any human cases of the disease although experts warn surveillance may not be completely effective and cases may have gone undetected. "There was a lot of movement of people and poultry over the Christmas, New Year and Eid celebrations and that is what has caused this new outbreak," said Junaidu Maina, head of Nigeria's livestock department. "We are on high alert because of that and we are also conducting active surveillance in the wetlands because of the presence of migrating birds." Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem infections among birds and head off a potentially devastating human flu pandemic. The disease was first discovered a year ago in the northern state of Kaduna and it spread rapidly to most parts of the country in the first week despite culling and quarantines. The government announced soon after the initial outbreak that it would compensate farmers for culled birds, but the scheme appeared to get bogged down in red tape and newspapers have published numerous reports of farmers who were never paid. Experts fear this may have discouraged farmers from reporting bird deaths and contributed to the spread of the disease. Maina said the compensation mechanism was now working and all eligible farmers would receive their money by the end of next week. Millions of Nigerians keep poultry in their backyards, making human-to-bird contact more common and surveillance more difficult. The majority of Nigeria's 140 million people live below the poverty line and cannot afford the luxury of rejecting sick or dead birds. This has raised concern among experts that Africa's most populous nation is at risk of becoming a permanent host to the virus. The H5N1 strain has killed 158 people out of a total of 264 infected since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation. Scientists fear it will mutate so that it can pass easily from human to human.
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