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Donors to help Nigeria look for bird flu outbreaks
21 Sep 2006 12:19:49 GMT
<!-- 21 Sep 2006 12:19:49 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove-->Source: Reuters
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<!-- AN5.0: background -->ABUJA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Some 200 health workers will fan out across Nigeria over the next six months to look for cases of avian influenza under a new project launched on Thursday by the European Union and the United Nations.
The first African country to detect the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, Nigeria has not reported any human cases of the disease although experts warn surveillance may not be effective because of poor health services.
The H5N1 virus was first detected in chicken in the northern state of Kaduna in January and it quickly spread to 14 of Nigeria's 36 states and to the Federal Capital Territory despite measures such as culls, quarantines and poultry transport bans.
Millions of Nigerians keep chicken in their backyards, and poultry are usually transported and sold live because most people don't have electricity to run refrigerators.
Nigerian authorities say the disease has been contained and its spread has slowed dramatically since the early weeks, but international experts say privately that the official data may not reflect the full extent of the problem.
Under the current system, cases of bird flu in poultry only become known if farmers report them to the authorities. Some farmers have been reluctant to do so because they fear losing their entire stock in mass culls.
The EU and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched a surveillance programme that aims to improve the data and help eradicate the disease from Africa's most populous country.
"Instead of this passive system of surveillance, some 200 animal health officers will undertake active surveillance. They will do this by visiting poultry farmers around the country to collect samples from poultry," the EU's delegation in Nigeria said in a statement.
The project, financed by the European Commission (EC), will cost 522,000 euros ($661,600) and will last until March 2007. The EC will pay for three epidemiologists, 10 veterinarians and 204 field animal health officers to work on the project.
It will also finance training for field officers and laboratory technicians from Nigeria's National Veterinary Institute and three veterinary teaching hospitals as well as the supply of equipment to these laboratories.
The H5N1 virus can infect people who come into close contact with sick birds. It has infected 247 people since 2003 and killed at least 144, the World Health Organisation says.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, causing a global flu pandemic in which millions could die.
Donors to help Nigeria look for bird flu outbreaks
21 Sep 2006 12:19:49 GMT
<!-- 21 Sep 2006 12:19:49 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove-->Source: Reuters
<!-- AN5.0 article title end --><!-- AN5.0 article header -->Printable view | Email this article | RSS
[-] Text [+] <!-- AN5.0 article header end --><!-- START: inline article box -->
<!-- AN5.0: background -->ABUJA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Some 200 health workers will fan out across Nigeria over the next six months to look for cases of avian influenza under a new project launched on Thursday by the European Union and the United Nations.
The first African country to detect the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, Nigeria has not reported any human cases of the disease although experts warn surveillance may not be effective because of poor health services.
The H5N1 virus was first detected in chicken in the northern state of Kaduna in January and it quickly spread to 14 of Nigeria's 36 states and to the Federal Capital Territory despite measures such as culls, quarantines and poultry transport bans.
Millions of Nigerians keep chicken in their backyards, and poultry are usually transported and sold live because most people don't have electricity to run refrigerators.
Nigerian authorities say the disease has been contained and its spread has slowed dramatically since the early weeks, but international experts say privately that the official data may not reflect the full extent of the problem.
Under the current system, cases of bird flu in poultry only become known if farmers report them to the authorities. Some farmers have been reluctant to do so because they fear losing their entire stock in mass culls.
The EU and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched a surveillance programme that aims to improve the data and help eradicate the disease from Africa's most populous country.
"Instead of this passive system of surveillance, some 200 animal health officers will undertake active surveillance. They will do this by visiting poultry farmers around the country to collect samples from poultry," the EU's delegation in Nigeria said in a statement.
The project, financed by the European Commission (EC), will cost 522,000 euros ($661,600) and will last until March 2007. The EC will pay for three epidemiologists, 10 veterinarians and 204 field animal health officers to work on the project.
It will also finance training for field officers and laboratory technicians from Nigeria's National Veterinary Institute and three veterinary teaching hospitals as well as the supply of equipment to these laboratories.
The H5N1 virus can infect people who come into close contact with sick birds. It has infected 247 people since 2003 and killed at least 144, the World Health Organisation says.
Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, causing a global flu pandemic in which millions could die.
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