Ghana - BF is not dangerous - Agric Director

Treyfish · Jun 4, 2007

<CENTER>Bird Flu Is Not Dangerous -Agric Director

</CENTER><SCRIPT type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Asante Krobea, has said that bird Flu is not any dangerous disease that should cause panic for the public and therefore called for calm among farmers and the general public following the confirmation of the disease at New Dormaa, a suburb in Sunyani. He said "with proper management, the disease can easily be controlled adding that malaria is more dangerous that bird flu".

He said all the 170 birds found infected with the disease at the farm and their products as well as the equipment used have been destroyed.

He urged poultry farmers to abide by the precautions given by the ministry to prevent the spread of the disease to other farms in the region. He said all movements of birds, eggs, crates and other poultry products from the region to other places or from other places to the region has been banned.

Mr Asante Krobea said the regional surveillance team is on the field to encourage poultry farmers to continue with their work.

The regional director gace the assurance that "the regional preparedness team meets almost every day on the issue to come out with possible measures to check further out breaks".

He appealed to poultry farmers to report the death of any birds promptly to the nearest veterinary office for examination and possibly their destruction to ensure public safety.

The regional director said that the ministry is preparing to compensate affected farmers and advised poultry farmers not to visit colleague farms because they could transfer the disease from their farms to others or might also carry the virus from colleague farms to theirs.

He appealed to the public to cooperate with the security agencies in checking vehicles to ensure that there is no movement of eggs or birds in the region and urged the public to report vehicles found transporting any poultry products to the police.

Mr. Krobea Asante said a regional task force, with the regional minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah as the chairman, has been formed to manage the outbreak of the disease.

He was worried that some radio presenters tried to make fun out of the outbreak of the disease and appealed to the media to be circumspect in the reportage on the disease since any sensationalisation could have serious economic implications.

The regional director commended Space FM for the professional manner it handled the matter. It was only Space FM which did not speculate the out break of the disease until it was confirmed by health officials.:tiphat: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=125093

HenryN · Jun 4, 2007

Re: Bird Flu Is Not Dangerous -Agric Director

Re: Bird Flu Is Not Dangerous -Agric Director

How do you spell V223I?

HenryN · Jun 5, 2007

Re: Ghana - BF is not dangerous - Agric Director

<CENTER>Ghana Seeks $14m To Fight Bird Flu

</CENTER><SCRIPT type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/advert.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
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</SPAN></B>Ghana has launched an appeal for a 14-million dollar assistance to help it contain the avian influenza disease, which was first reported in the country in April.

It urgently needs 2.8 million dollars to finance the implementation of a six-month emergency plan of action drafted by the Ministry of Food and Agricultural (MoFA) in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

The Minister of MoFA, Ernest A.Debrah, who made the appeal at a meeting with its development partners in Accra yesterday said, there has not been any case of human infection with the disease in Ghana yet.

The meeting was to discus and exchange views on the outbreak of the disease in the country to find ways and means to fight it.

Mr.Debrah announced that the government has to date paid ¢340 million compensation to farmers whose poultry and poultry products were destroyed by the Veterinary Services as a measure to control the disease.

He noted that the amount did not include the compensation to be paid to farmers in the Sunyani area who also lost their poultry products as a result of the control measures implemented by the Veterinary Services.

He said the Veterinary Services are conducting active surveillance activities, which involves sampling of products from poultry farms in the areas surrounding the outbreak farms.

“Health screening of the people on the affected farms is also being conducted as a precaution by the Ghana Health Service,” he said

The minister observed that Ghana is faced with a lot of constraints with the implementation of the recommended FAO strategy for the control and eradication of the disease.

The constraints, he said included weak animal disease surveillance and information, weak veterinary diagnostic capacities, inadequate logistics for decontamination, low level of biosecurity on farms and sub-optimal level of public awareness on issues relating to the surveillance and control of the disease.

He explained that the situation has made “the establishment of a stable enzootic situation and further transboundary spread inevitable,” unless the disease is brought under control and eliminated.

Giving statistics on birds killed, he said in the Sunyani area a total of 210 birds died while 180 birds were involved in a culling operation.

In the Tema area, he said 11,743 birds were killed while 328 crates of eggs were also destroyed, noting that the Veterinary Services culled 12,008 birds.

Mr. Debrah said the six-month emergency plan would “put in place timely and decisive interventions so as to avoid the development and establishment of a more serious situation in the near future with the spread of the disease to the country’s districts, regions and even to neighbouring countries”

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=125118

HenryN · Jun 6, 2007

Re: Ghana - BF is not dangerous - Agric Director

Country Needs U.S.$14 Million to Prevent Avian Influenza From Spreading

Accra Mail (Accra)
NEWS
5 June 2007 </B>
Posted to the web 6 June 2007

By Cephas Larbi

The Minister for Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Ernest Debrah has said the country requires US$14million to prevent the avian flu disease from spreading beyond Tema and Sunyani.
The establishment of a stable enzootic situation and further trans-boundary spread is inevitable because of the weaknesses of the veterinary infrastructures and operational capacities.
A 6-month Emergency Action Plan for Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza 2005 -2006, has been drafted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), in collaboration with FAO, to put in place timely and decisive interventions so as to avoid the development and establishment of a more serious situation in the near future with the spread of the disease to the districts, regions and even to neighboring countries.
Speaking at a press conference held in Accra on avian influenza he said "It is specifically based on the containment of actual outbreaks and the prevention of new ones through adequate response, strengthening of surveillance measures and increased awareness of all stakeholders for immediate alert and response actions to any outbreak which may occur in the country".
The Minister said the worrying situation is that, the location of the last confirmed avian influenza outbreak at Sunyani is close to Dormaa Ahenkro District which is one of the most important sites for poultry products in the country". Dormaa Ahenkro has 190 commercial poultry farms with an estimated chicken population of around 1.57 million birds of which 90% are layers.
In responds to the outbreak, he said the Veterinary Service is conducting active surveillance activities involving sample collection from poultry farmers in the areas surrounding the outbreak farms. Health screening of the people on the affected farms are also being conducted as a precaution by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
In spite of the economic difficulties, he said the government has mobilized funds so far totaling some 340,327,700 million cedis as compensation to farmers whose poultry or poultry products were destroyed.
The Minister said Ghana is faced with several constraints in implementing the recommended FAO/OIE strategy for HPAI control and eradication which includes: the depopulation of affected farms, cleaning and decontamination, restriction of movement of poultry products, active disease surveillance and compensation of farmers whose birds were culled as part of the HPAI disease control measures.
He said the government is appealing for the assistance of development partners to implement the Emergency Action Plan so as to ensure that there is no more H5N1 virus circulating out of the infected areas, and to reestablish the disease free status of the infected areas.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200706060788.html

Ghana - BF is not dangerous - Agric Director

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HenryN

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