Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Bird flu hits Nigeria's most populous city
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=117674
ABUJA - A deadly strain of bird flu has been detected in Africa's most populous city, the Nigerian commercial capital Lagos, Information Minister Frank Nweke confirmed Thursday.
"The virus has so far been indentified in 12 states, including Lagos, as well as around the federal capital Abuja," Nweke told AFP.
The detection of the virus in Lagos will raise fears that Nigeria's outbreak H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed more than 90 people since it broke out in Asia in 2003, could be spreading out of control.
The director of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Dr. Lombi Lami, confirmed that there had been an outbreak in a farm in the Ikeja district of Lagos, but said it had been reported weeks ago.
So far no human cases have been detected in Nigeria's estimated 130 million-strong population. Lagos is home to an estimated 15 million people, many of whom keep chickens in their back yards.
In the three months since the west African country has begun battling avian influenza, more than 450,000 birds have either died or have been killed as part of preventive measures.
Chicken sales have fallen, and many countries have banned Nigerian poultry imports.
Nigeria was the first African country to detect the virus in its poultry and has put in place a large operation to contain it, but it has already been found in nearby Niger and Burkina Faso and there are fears it will spread further.
04/06/2006
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=117674
ABUJA - A deadly strain of bird flu has been detected in Africa's most populous city, the Nigerian commercial capital Lagos, Information Minister Frank Nweke confirmed Thursday.
"The virus has so far been indentified in 12 states, including Lagos, as well as around the federal capital Abuja," Nweke told AFP.
The detection of the virus in Lagos will raise fears that Nigeria's outbreak H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed more than 90 people since it broke out in Asia in 2003, could be spreading out of control.
The director of the National Veterinary Research Institute, Dr. Lombi Lami, confirmed that there had been an outbreak in a farm in the Ikeja district of Lagos, but said it had been reported weeks ago.
So far no human cases have been detected in Nigeria's estimated 130 million-strong population. Lagos is home to an estimated 15 million people, many of whom keep chickens in their back yards.
In the three months since the west African country has begun battling avian influenza, more than 450,000 birds have either died or have been killed as part of preventive measures.
Chicken sales have fallen, and many countries have banned Nigerian poultry imports.
Nigeria was the first African country to detect the virus in its poultry and has put in place a large operation to contain it, but it has already been found in nearby Niger and Burkina Faso and there are fears it will spread further.
04/06/2006