Tweet
"Chairman of the Adhoc Committee" ... Ha! That's what I wanna be. :p
Cameroon: There is No Human Case of Bird Flu in Cameroon
The Post (Buea)
April 24, 2006
Posted to the web April 24, 2006
Kini Nsom
Members of the Inter-Ministerial Adhoc Committee for the Prevention and Control of Bird Flu have declared that since the disease was discovered on March 11 in the north of Cameroon, no case of human infection has so far been reported. The committee members made the declaration during a meeting at the Prime Minster's office on Friday, April 21.
They also stated that since the diagnosis of the H5N1 virus in the Doualar? neighbourhood in Maroua and at Malapa, 40 km west of Garoua, no case of the disease has been reported anywhere else in Cameroon.
Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Adhoc Committee, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Deputy Secretary General at the Prime Minister's office, said government and its partners were engaged in sustained efforts to make sure the disease doesn't become a big problem in the country.
Briefing the committee, the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Aboubakari Sarki, said the consumption of chicken was gradually coming back after a slump. He blamed the recent boycott of chicken by many Cameroonians on the exaggerated bird flu alarm that was not justifiable. He said the poultry sector lost billions in terms of income due to the false alarm. [False alarm? What false alarm?]
He, however, jumped for joy that the population is beginning to understand that there is no health risk in consuming chicken. Nonetheless, he said the various Provincial and Divisional committees were afield, sensitising the population on how to behave in case of any eventuality.
He said government was implementing measures to cast the disease off the Cameroonian soil. Some preventive measures include the erecting of health barriers and the killing of chickens that are found within three kilometres of an infected farm.
Taking the floor, the Minster of Public Health, Olanguena Awono, confirmed that no human case of the avian flu has been reported in the country. He said his Ministry was taking no chances in implementing the preventive measures government has prescribed.
"Space has been provided in the major hospitals in the country since the diagnosis of the disease, for the isolation of suspected human cases," he said.
The Minister highlighted the assistance of some international organisations, including the World Health Organisation, WHO, that have been given to Cameroon since the disease was discovered in the country.
He said WHO sent in a stock of Tami flu drugs to handle any eventual cases. He disclosed that health services in the country were on a full alert, ready to contain any eventual cases of human infection. An official of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovations said suspected cases of bird flu in Yaounde proved negative when tested at the Centre Pasteur Laboratory in the city.
The representative of the United Nations Systems, Mrs. Sophie De Caen highlighted the role the UN was playing in the fight against bird flu in Cameroon. She said donors have put in some two million US dollars for the fight.
Preventive Measures
Already government has banned the importation or transit through Cameroon of pigs, poultry, and their products and used livestock equipment from H5N1 in infected countries.
Besides, authorities said they have put forward measures for the effective control of domestic birds and pigs; sanitary barriers have been erected at strategic points to reduce the spread of the virus.
A delegation of the National Intervention Brigade on Bird Flu led by Dr. Baschirou Moussa Demsa, visited six provinces recently and reported that the sanitary barriers were quite functional. Border markets near the frontier with Nigeria have been closed to pigs, poultry and their products.
Members of the brigade also claimed that there is active surveillance of the avian flu by veterinary officials nationwide. Besides assessing the sensitisation of farmers on bird flu, the brigade visited suspected farms and examined medical facilities in risky areas around the frontier markets.
They also visited laboratories and assessed their capacity for diagnosing the disease.
Weak Points
According to a report signed by a member of the brigade, Dr. Vincent Tanya, the fight against bird flu is being hindered by a few lapses.
He said the public health epidemiological surveillance through sentinel sites is not operational because of lack of official documents defining a standard case of human influenza caused by the H5N1 virus.
The lack of a definitive list of sentinel sites, he stated, is also a major handicap. According to him, public health officials are not well informed on avian flu and the necessary control measures.
He recommended that they need training and complained that the material for sensitisation of the public is essentially veterinary in nature and pays little attention to human health.
The report states that despite a few weaknesses in the onslaught against the disease, there is no scientific basis for the panic that has made many people stop eating chicken.
"Our chicken is safe and people can continue to eat it without fear. You only need to cook it well as we normally do," concludes the report.
Cameroon: There is No Human Case of Bird Flu in Cameroon
The Post (Buea)
April 24, 2006
Posted to the web April 24, 2006
Kini Nsom
Members of the Inter-Ministerial Adhoc Committee for the Prevention and Control of Bird Flu have declared that since the disease was discovered on March 11 in the north of Cameroon, no case of human infection has so far been reported. The committee members made the declaration during a meeting at the Prime Minster's office on Friday, April 21.
They also stated that since the diagnosis of the H5N1 virus in the Doualar? neighbourhood in Maroua and at Malapa, 40 km west of Garoua, no case of the disease has been reported anywhere else in Cameroon.
Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Adhoc Committee, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Deputy Secretary General at the Prime Minister's office, said government and its partners were engaged in sustained efforts to make sure the disease doesn't become a big problem in the country.
Briefing the committee, the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Aboubakari Sarki, said the consumption of chicken was gradually coming back after a slump. He blamed the recent boycott of chicken by many Cameroonians on the exaggerated bird flu alarm that was not justifiable. He said the poultry sector lost billions in terms of income due to the false alarm. [False alarm? What false alarm?]
He, however, jumped for joy that the population is beginning to understand that there is no health risk in consuming chicken. Nonetheless, he said the various Provincial and Divisional committees were afield, sensitising the population on how to behave in case of any eventuality.
He said government was implementing measures to cast the disease off the Cameroonian soil. Some preventive measures include the erecting of health barriers and the killing of chickens that are found within three kilometres of an infected farm.
Taking the floor, the Minster of Public Health, Olanguena Awono, confirmed that no human case of the avian flu has been reported in the country. He said his Ministry was taking no chances in implementing the preventive measures government has prescribed.
"Space has been provided in the major hospitals in the country since the diagnosis of the disease, for the isolation of suspected human cases," he said.
The Minister highlighted the assistance of some international organisations, including the World Health Organisation, WHO, that have been given to Cameroon since the disease was discovered in the country.
He said WHO sent in a stock of Tami flu drugs to handle any eventual cases. He disclosed that health services in the country were on a full alert, ready to contain any eventual cases of human infection. An official of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovations said suspected cases of bird flu in Yaounde proved negative when tested at the Centre Pasteur Laboratory in the city.
The representative of the United Nations Systems, Mrs. Sophie De Caen highlighted the role the UN was playing in the fight against bird flu in Cameroon. She said donors have put in some two million US dollars for the fight.
Preventive Measures
Already government has banned the importation or transit through Cameroon of pigs, poultry, and their products and used livestock equipment from H5N1 in infected countries.
Besides, authorities said they have put forward measures for the effective control of domestic birds and pigs; sanitary barriers have been erected at strategic points to reduce the spread of the virus.
A delegation of the National Intervention Brigade on Bird Flu led by Dr. Baschirou Moussa Demsa, visited six provinces recently and reported that the sanitary barriers were quite functional. Border markets near the frontier with Nigeria have been closed to pigs, poultry and their products.
Members of the brigade also claimed that there is active surveillance of the avian flu by veterinary officials nationwide. Besides assessing the sensitisation of farmers on bird flu, the brigade visited suspected farms and examined medical facilities in risky areas around the frontier markets.
They also visited laboratories and assessed their capacity for diagnosing the disease.
Weak Points
According to a report signed by a member of the brigade, Dr. Vincent Tanya, the fight against bird flu is being hindered by a few lapses.
He said the public health epidemiological surveillance through sentinel sites is not operational because of lack of official documents defining a standard case of human influenza caused by the H5N1 virus.
The lack of a definitive list of sentinel sites, he stated, is also a major handicap. According to him, public health officials are not well informed on avian flu and the necessary control measures.
He recommended that they need training and complained that the material for sensitisation of the public is essentially veterinary in nature and pays little attention to human health.
The report states that despite a few weaknesses in the onslaught against the disease, there is no scientific basis for the panic that has made many people stop eating chicken.
"Our chicken is safe and people can continue to eat it without fear. You only need to cook it well as we normally do," concludes the report.
