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Ivory Coast reports bird flu cases
Ivory Coast reports bird flu cases
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=180756474&p=y8x757y8x
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=180756474&p=y8x757y8x
Ivory Coast has reported its first cases of H5N1 bird flu, in both domestic poultry and in wild birds, the World Organisation for Animal Health said today.
The Paris-based agency said Ivory Coast informed it yesterday. The bird flu cases were reported in the commercial capital, Abidjan, in backyard free-range chickens, ducks and a sparrowhawk, according to a statement from the agency, known by the initials OIE.
Ivory Coast becomes the sixth African nation to report cases of the deadly H5N1 virus, after Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt and Niger, said OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione.
She said that Sudan has also reported the H5-subtype of bird flu, although tests are still ongoing to determine whether it is H5N1.
Some experts fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that could spread easily between humans, sparking a global pandemic.
Ivory Coast, in its report to the OIE, said the outbreak started on March 30 - nearly a month before it was confirmed.
Zampaglione noted that such delays in reporting outbreaks can favour the spread of bird flu. But rather than wilful deception on the part of Ivorian authorities, she said the delay was likely due to weak veterinary services, a problem faced by many African countries, and the difficulties they often have testing for bird flu.
?Some African nations are not able to react quickly as they should,? she said. ?It is not a lack of will.?
The Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Pasteur Institute in Ivory Coast confirmed the bird flu diagnosis, the OIE?s statement said.
The OIE could not confirm the outbreak itself, because its lab in Italy was still conducting tests.
Those results are expected quickly, perhaps by the end of the week, said Zampaglione.
Ivory Coast told the OIE that it is imposing quarantines and controls on movements, disinfecting infected zones and taking other measures to control the outbreak.
The Paris-based agency said Ivory Coast informed it yesterday. The bird flu cases were reported in the commercial capital, Abidjan, in backyard free-range chickens, ducks and a sparrowhawk, according to a statement from the agency, known by the initials OIE.
Ivory Coast becomes the sixth African nation to report cases of the deadly H5N1 virus, after Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt and Niger, said OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione.
She said that Sudan has also reported the H5-subtype of bird flu, although tests are still ongoing to determine whether it is H5N1.
Some experts fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that could spread easily between humans, sparking a global pandemic.
Ivory Coast, in its report to the OIE, said the outbreak started on March 30 - nearly a month before it was confirmed.
Zampaglione noted that such delays in reporting outbreaks can favour the spread of bird flu. But rather than wilful deception on the part of Ivorian authorities, she said the delay was likely due to weak veterinary services, a problem faced by many African countries, and the difficulties they often have testing for bird flu.
?Some African nations are not able to react quickly as they should,? she said. ?It is not a lack of will.?
The Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Pasteur Institute in Ivory Coast confirmed the bird flu diagnosis, the OIE?s statement said.
The OIE could not confirm the outbreak itself, because its lab in Italy was still conducting tests.
Those results are expected quickly, perhaps by the end of the week, said Zampaglione.
Ivory Coast told the OIE that it is imposing quarantines and controls on movements, disinfecting infected zones and taking other measures to control the outbreak.