Tweet
Nigerian Economy Hit Hard by Bird Flu Crisis
Bird Flu, Spreading in Africa, May Touch Off Killer Pandemic Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Feathers littered on sandy soil and poultry coops filled with empty wire are the few remaining signs of the 28,000 chickens Abdullahi Saidu lost in a week to bird flu on his Nigerian farm last month.
``It spread very fast,'' said Saidu, 40, recalling the outbreak that claimed his entire flock at Sovet Farm, near Kano city in northern Nigeria. Initially, he blamed fowl cholera and treated his hens with antibiotics. The birds kept dying. Saidu moved healthy chickens to new coops to halt the spread. ``Before you knew it, they became sick and started dying with the same symptoms of diarrhea, respiratory problems and weakness.''
The 50 million naira ($388,000) poultry business Saidu says he spent 15 years building is now worthless.
The lethal H5N1 avian influenza is raging through poultry farms in Nigeria, the most-populous nation on the western edge of a continent ravaged by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Yesterday, neighboring Niger confirmed its first case of bird flu among domestic fowl and Kenya, on Africa's east coast, began investigating a possible outbreak in the capital Nairobi.
Scientists worry avian flu is taking root in Africa, where it threatens to infect humans as it has in southern Asia and China. Once the virus takes hold in Africa, it risks mutating into a lethal form that may spread easily among people, creating a global health catastrophe.
``The first pandemic of the 21st century could come from Africa, rather than Southeast Asia,'' John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of London, said in a telephone interview. Oxford said Africa's poverty, densely populated urban and farm areas, intermingling of people and chickens, and poor health services create a fertile ground for the virus.
Economic Crisis
``If it gets itself rooted there, it will be even more difficult to get it out than Southeast Asia,'' said Oxford, who has studied influenza viruses for 40 years.
A pandemic such as the one that killed 50 million people in 1918 may take more than 142 million lives and cause the world's economy to shrink by one-eighth, according to a report by the Lowy Institute and Australian National University.
Niger became the 16th country to confirm an avian-flu outbreak this month, doubling the number of nations reporting infections since 2003. In Asia, almost 200 million domestic poultry have died or been culled to contain the virus's spread, costing affected countries about $10 billion, according to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Containing the spread of H5N1 in Africa is critical, according to Simeon Ehui, a lead economist with the World Bank in Abuja, Nigeria. ``If it's not properly handled, the consequences could be very catastrophic,'' Ehui said.
HIV Legacy
At least 93 of the 173 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 virus since late 2003 have died, mainly in Asia, the World Health Organization said yesterday.
Poor nutrition and the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, make Africans more susceptible to infection, scientists said. The National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja estimates 54 percent of Nigerians can't afford a food basket that would give them 2,900 calories a day.
Sub-Saharan Africa has just over a tenth of the world's population, though it is home to more than 60 percent of all people living with HIV, according to UNAIDS, a UN program.
``The major challenge is that this outbreak is happening in an environment where the systems are weaker,'' said Abdulsalami Nasidi, head of the Nigerian health task force charged with coordinating efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
`More Everything'
``We have to start from scratch,'' Nasidi said last week in an interview. ``We need more veterinarians. We need a better surveillance system. We need more everything.''
Nigeria's outbreak of H5N1 in birds probably began in early January, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. A lack of veterinarians and equipped local laboratories to carry out testing and surveillance led to a three-week delay in confirming the virus, allowing it to spread undetected within the country and possibly beyond its borders.
``We reported the outbreak on Jan. 27 and they came and took samples,'' farmer Saudi said. ``Four or five delays later we heard on the news that samples taken a farm in Kaduna state owned by Sports Minister Saidu Balarabe Sambawa showed it was the H5N1 flu. The symptoms they saw on Sambawa Farms were the same as what they saw here. Days later, they confirmed it was the same flu.''
Disease Haven
Fowl cholera and Newcastle disease, deadly ailments that have been virtually wiped out in poultry in Western Europe, are endemic in West African flocks.
``The basic reason is that our living standard and health consciousness are different,'' said Auwalu Haruna, secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria. ``We are not equipped mentally and physically to rigorously enforce compliance and safety standards.''
Haruna said H5N1 is spreading unreported in parts of the country as farmers, wary of the government's promise of compensation, are reluctant to inform authorities about outbreaks. The government has been slow to close live poultry markets and restrict the movement of fowl from town to town.
``In Africa in general, the veterinary services are understaffed and under-budgeted,'' Joseph Domenech, the FAO's chief veterinary officer, said in a phone interview last week.
Limited Funds
The Nigerian government has committed about 2 billion naira ($15.6 million) to the fight.
``With that, we have been trying'' to contain the outbreak, Bamidele Dada, Nigeria's Minister of State for Agriculture, said in an interview last week. ``But we need more resources.''
Insufficient supplies of protective clothing, disinfectant and money to pay people involved in the exercise are hampering control measures, the agriculture ministry said last week.
Even as scientists and experts worry about Nigeria's ability to contain the virus, they point out the country is Africa's largest oil exporter and ranked as its fourth-biggest economy in 2004.
Nigeria has better resources than many other countries on the continent, said the World Bank's Ehui. ``If the same problem arises in Niger, Benin and other countries, I don't know how they are going to deal with it.''
To contact the reporter on this story:Jason Gale in Abuja, Nigeria, at j.gale@bloomberg.net</PRE>Last Updated: February 28, 2006 03:16 EST
``It spread very fast,'' said Saidu, 40, recalling the outbreak that claimed his entire flock at Sovet Farm, near Kano city in northern Nigeria. Initially, he blamed fowl cholera and treated his hens with antibiotics. The birds kept dying. Saidu moved healthy chickens to new coops to halt the spread. ``Before you knew it, they became sick and started dying with the same symptoms of diarrhea, respiratory problems and weakness.''
The 50 million naira ($388,000) poultry business Saidu says he spent 15 years building is now worthless.
The lethal H5N1 avian influenza is raging through poultry farms in Nigeria, the most-populous nation on the western edge of a continent ravaged by poverty and HIV/AIDS. Yesterday, neighboring Niger confirmed its first case of bird flu among domestic fowl and Kenya, on Africa's east coast, began investigating a possible outbreak in the capital Nairobi.
Scientists worry avian flu is taking root in Africa, where it threatens to infect humans as it has in southern Asia and China. Once the virus takes hold in Africa, it risks mutating into a lethal form that may spread easily among people, creating a global health catastrophe.
``The first pandemic of the 21st century could come from Africa, rather than Southeast Asia,'' John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of London, said in a telephone interview. Oxford said Africa's poverty, densely populated urban and farm areas, intermingling of people and chickens, and poor health services create a fertile ground for the virus.
Economic Crisis
``If it gets itself rooted there, it will be even more difficult to get it out than Southeast Asia,'' said Oxford, who has studied influenza viruses for 40 years.
A pandemic such as the one that killed 50 million people in 1918 may take more than 142 million lives and cause the world's economy to shrink by one-eighth, according to a report by the Lowy Institute and Australian National University.
Niger became the 16th country to confirm an avian-flu outbreak this month, doubling the number of nations reporting infections since 2003. In Asia, almost 200 million domestic poultry have died or been culled to contain the virus's spread, costing affected countries about $10 billion, according to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Containing the spread of H5N1 in Africa is critical, according to Simeon Ehui, a lead economist with the World Bank in Abuja, Nigeria. ``If it's not properly handled, the consequences could be very catastrophic,'' Ehui said.
HIV Legacy
At least 93 of the 173 people known to have been infected with the H5N1 virus since late 2003 have died, mainly in Asia, the World Health Organization said yesterday.
Poor nutrition and the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, make Africans more susceptible to infection, scientists said. The National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja estimates 54 percent of Nigerians can't afford a food basket that would give them 2,900 calories a day.
Sub-Saharan Africa has just over a tenth of the world's population, though it is home to more than 60 percent of all people living with HIV, according to UNAIDS, a UN program.
``The major challenge is that this outbreak is happening in an environment where the systems are weaker,'' said Abdulsalami Nasidi, head of the Nigerian health task force charged with coordinating efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
`More Everything'
``We have to start from scratch,'' Nasidi said last week in an interview. ``We need more veterinarians. We need a better surveillance system. We need more everything.''
Nigeria's outbreak of H5N1 in birds probably began in early January, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. A lack of veterinarians and equipped local laboratories to carry out testing and surveillance led to a three-week delay in confirming the virus, allowing it to spread undetected within the country and possibly beyond its borders.
``We reported the outbreak on Jan. 27 and they came and took samples,'' farmer Saudi said. ``Four or five delays later we heard on the news that samples taken a farm in Kaduna state owned by Sports Minister Saidu Balarabe Sambawa showed it was the H5N1 flu. The symptoms they saw on Sambawa Farms were the same as what they saw here. Days later, they confirmed it was the same flu.''
Disease Haven
Fowl cholera and Newcastle disease, deadly ailments that have been virtually wiped out in poultry in Western Europe, are endemic in West African flocks.
``The basic reason is that our living standard and health consciousness are different,'' said Auwalu Haruna, secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria. ``We are not equipped mentally and physically to rigorously enforce compliance and safety standards.''
Haruna said H5N1 is spreading unreported in parts of the country as farmers, wary of the government's promise of compensation, are reluctant to inform authorities about outbreaks. The government has been slow to close live poultry markets and restrict the movement of fowl from town to town.
``In Africa in general, the veterinary services are understaffed and under-budgeted,'' Joseph Domenech, the FAO's chief veterinary officer, said in a phone interview last week.
Limited Funds
The Nigerian government has committed about 2 billion naira ($15.6 million) to the fight.
``With that, we have been trying'' to contain the outbreak, Bamidele Dada, Nigeria's Minister of State for Agriculture, said in an interview last week. ``But we need more resources.''
Insufficient supplies of protective clothing, disinfectant and money to pay people involved in the exercise are hampering control measures, the agriculture ministry said last week.
Even as scientists and experts worry about Nigeria's ability to contain the virus, they point out the country is Africa's largest oil exporter and ranked as its fourth-biggest economy in 2004.
Nigeria has better resources than many other countries on the continent, said the World Bank's Ehui. ``If the same problem arises in Niger, Benin and other countries, I don't know how they are going to deal with it.''
To contact the reporter on this story:Jason Gale in Abuja, Nigeria, at j.gale@bloomberg.net</PRE>Last Updated: February 28, 2006 03:16 EST