Nigeria: 130 Farms Positive - WHO

[viamede]

Bird Flu: Another 60,000 Fowls Die

Bird Flu: Another 60,000 Fowls Die

Bird Flu: Another 60,000 Fowls Die

This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
February 10, 2006 </B>
Posted to the web February 10, 2006

By Moses Jolayemi, Paul Ohia, Cyprian Aiteobhor, Agaju Madugba and Kingsley Nwezeh
Lagos/Kaduna/Abuja
A large-scale slaughtering is underway at the Sambawa Farms where thousands of chickens have reportedly died of bird flu as another 60,000 fowls yesterday died from the outbreak of the deadly disease.
A team of Nigerian experts is heading for the farm, owned by Sports Minister Saidu Balarabe Sambawa, in Kaduna State to carry out the killings.
Agriculture Minister Adamu Bello said all birds at any farm where suspicious deaths had occurred would be killed.
In a quick response to arrest the situation, the United States Government yesterday donated $25 million to support the Federal Government's fight against the dreaded bird flu disease.
In addition, US has offered technical assistance in a bid to contain the disease recently detected in Kaduna, Kano and Plateau States as well as the provision of 2000 protective suits to be used in the affected areas.
This was disclosed by the Deputy Chief of mission of the US Embassy in Abuja, Mr Thomas Furey when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Adamu Bello in Abuja.
Technical assistance, according to him, would be offered through the US Center for Disease Control in Kenya. The team in Kenya, he said was being deployed to Nigeria to work with WHO and also establish a testing laboratory for quick surveillance activities.
In his response, the minister thanked the US Government for its show of concern and willingness to offer assistance while assuring that the Federal Government was doing all in its power to arrest the situation
International experts were reported yesterday to be heading for Kaduna, as well as Kano and Jos where the other deaths took place as government officials are investigating whether the deaths of thousands of chickens in the two neighbouring states were also caused by the bird flu.
Chickens started dying in the area four weeks ago, raising fears that bird flu could have spread across Nigeria - and to neighbouring countries - before it was confirmed on Wednesday.
Quarantines and other restrictions are only now being imposed on farms near where the chickens have died.
Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation (WHO) told the BBC the virus "might be quite widespread".
"If it's in Nigeria it might also be in other countries that are less well-equipped."
He said governments and ordinary people would have to take "very, very strong precautions" to protect themselves and stop the disease spreading.
Sambawa reportedly told the BBC's Adamu Yusuf that he suspected the outbreak was down to "sabotage", possibly by disgruntled former workers at the farm, which used to have 40,000 chickens.
The sports minister was said to have spoken by telephone from the African Cup of Nations in Egypt, where he saw Nigeria lose in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
The agriculture minister has suggested illegal poultry imports may be behind the outbreak.
The disease may also have been spread by migrating birds according to reports.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed its readiness to respond to requests from Nigeria for support but warned against slaughtering, defeathering, butchering, and preparation for consumption of diseased poultry.
In a statement yesterday from the regional office in Brazzaville, Congo, WHO said it is ready "to respond to requests from Nigeria for support, including assessment teams and the provision of essential supplies and equipment". It added that infectious disease staff at WHO's regional office in Harare, Zimbabwe held an emergency meeting yesterday to assess the situation, plan a response, and evaluate the possible risk to other African countries.
WHO added that a team of experts experienced in the investigation of outbreaks has been placed on standby noting that the country lies along a flight route for birds migrating from central Asia.
"Although all evidence to date indicates that the virus does not spread easily from birds to humans, careful monitoring of the situation is warranted.
Experience in several other countries has shown how quickly the H5N1 virus can spread and become firmly established in poultry. The ability of this virus to cause rare but severe disease in humans is well documented." WHO added.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has raised a response committee to carry out further investigatons into the outbreak of the bird flu virus at Sambawa Farms, as consumers of poultry products continue to patronise poultry markets in the metropolis.
Inuagurating the committee at the Government House yesterday, Makarfi directed that all commercial poultry farms and their staff should be tested for the virus while asking all medical centres to be on the alert and watch out for patients who may have symptoms of the disease.
Makarfi who noted that the bird flu issue is not as alarming as people think also noted that the Sambawa Farms bird virus was actually detected in January 2006 following which the place was quarantined while specimens were taken for laboratory analysis results of which were confirmed last weekend.
But Secretary of the Kano state branch of Poultry Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Auwalu Haruna, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Kano that more chickens were likely to die.
He, therefore, appealed to both federal and state governments to take a decisive action to arrest the situation.The state Director of Veterinary Services, Dr Salihu Jibrin, said samples from the infected birds had been sent to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, near Jos, for analysis.
In a related development, desperate chicken farmers are slaughtering their birds and selling them to the public at give-away prices to reduce their losses.
NAN reports yesterday said hawkers have taken to the major streets in the metropolis selling chickens at N150 each. However, most residents are refusing to buy.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has however advised Nigerians not to panic about the recent outbreak, saying that relevant emergency management agencies are already handling the situation.
A statement by NEMA's Information Officer Mr Ibrahim Farinloye said the risk from bird flu "is generally low to most people because the viruses infect only those in close contact with the infected birds, as such there is no single case of human infections reported in the country so far."
The statement, however, advised Nigerians to look out for flu-like symptoms in human ranging from fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia, and severe respiratory diseases.
NEMA added that eating well cooked poultry meat has never been reported to pose any danger to humans and as such there is no cause for alarm.
"Studies have suggested that the spread of avian influeza viruses from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely ,and transmission has not been observed to continue beyond the infected person," the statement added.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200602100417.html

 

[viamede]

UN agencies call for halt to Nigerian poultry movements

UN agencies call for halt to Nigerian poultry movements

UN agencies call for halt to Nigerian poultry movements

ROME (AFX) - Two UN organisations called on Nigerian authorities toimmediately close down poultry markets to prevent the spread of the deadly birdflu virus. "The movement of poultry should be stopped immediately to contain thedisease. People should not import or trade livestock or livestock products," theFood and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health(OIE) said in a joint statement. They said neighbouring countries Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Niger andTogo should increase surveillance measures, and veterinary staff mobilised totighten border inspections. The UN bodies welcomed emergency measures already put in place by theNigerian authorities in the affected areas of Kaduna, Kano and Plateau, but saidcontrols "need to be intensified, applying standard procedures recommended byFAO and OIE guidelines." The UN agencies said they would send a joint mission to Nigeria within 48hours, to assess the situation and advise of further emergency measures. Nigerian officials warned earlier Friday that the bird flu virus isspreading rapidly through poultry flocks in the north of the country.newsdesk@afxnews.comafp/joyhttp://freeserve.advfn.com/news_UN-agencies-call-for-halt-to-Nigerian-poultry-movements_14154335.html

 

[viamede]

Nigerians handle dead poultry unaware of bird flu

Nigerians handle dead poultry unaware of bird flu

Nigerians handle dead poultry unaware of bird flu
Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:44 PM GMT


By Daniel Flynn
HAWAN DAWAKI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian poultry farm workers used their bare hands to throw dead chickens onto fires as village children stood by to watch in an area where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found.
Villagers said their domestic poultry were dying too, reinforcing suspicions that bird flu may be present not only in large commercial farms but also in people's backyards in Africa's most populous country.
At a farm near Hawan Dawaki village in the northern state of Kano, where two farms have confirmed cases of H5N1, workers in normal clothes and sandals carried handfuls of dead and dying chickens to a field to burn them.
"We are working on this farm without taking care of our health, but what else can we do? We are calling on the government to come and help us," said Alhaj Danliti, the manager of the farm, which is a stone's throw away from the village.
He said the farm had lost 10,000 chickens, almost its entire stock, and he did not know the nature of their disease. Several chickens collapsed and died with a yellow liquid leaking from their beaks.
In Hawan Dawaki, village elder Muhammadu Musa said he and his neighbour had lost about 150 chickens in recent weeks.
"Both the big ones and the newborn ones are dying. When they die we take them and throw them away. We don't eat them," he said.
In Nigeria, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, most poultry is bought and sold live and slaughtered at home.
Chickens run free in the countryside but also in cities, and public transport is usually full of people carrying poultry in their arms or in baskets.
FEARS FOR HUMANS
The outbreak of H5N1, confirmed in Kano and two other Nigerian states, is the first known appearance in Africa of the virus, which has killed at least 88 people mostly in Asia.
Nigeria has reported no human casualties, but it would be hard for authorities to know because health services are almost non-existent, mortality rates are among the highest in the world and people are often buried without a medical check.
The government has ordered suspect birds culled and suspect farms quarantined, but there was little evidence of any concrete measures in the worst affected areas.
On five poultry farms in Kano state, Reuters found no official checks had been carried out on the birds' health and no measures were in place to restrict the movement of poultry. Workers appeared bewildered by questions about bird flu.
"We are trying to get on top of it ... Culling takes place only in farms where the virus has been confirmed," said Junaidu Maina, acting director of the livestock department at the federal Agriculture Ministry in the capital Abuja.
Bird flu experts say culling should take place as early as possible in order to be effective.
"One of our major problems is the issue of protective clothing. What we are using now is what is designed for pest control so you can see our predicament," said Maina.
He said he hoped to receive protective equipment from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation over the weekend.
In Geneva, the World Health Organisation said it was sending a team of 7 or 8 experts to Nigeria to try to stop human cases.
Victims contract the virus through direct contact with infected birds, but there are fears it could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person. If it does, it could spark a global human flu pandemic in which millions could die.
(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon in Abuja)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-02-10T164428Z_01_L1094981_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-NIGERIA.xml

:surrender:

 

[Susan]

Nigerians handle dead poultry unaware of bird flu

Nigerians handle dead poultry unaware of bird flu

Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:44 PM GMT



By Daniel Flynn
HAWAN DAWAKI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian poultry farm workers used their bare hands to throw dead chickens onto fires as village children stood by to watch in an area where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found.
Villagers said their domestic poultry were dying too, reinforcing suspicions that bird flu may be present not only in large commercial farms but also in people's backyards in Africa's most populous country.
At a farm near Hawan Dawaki village in the northern state of Kano, where two farms have confirmed cases of H5N1, workers in normal clothes and sandals carried handfuls of dead and dying chickens to a field to burn them.
"We are working on this farm without taking care of our health, but what else can we do? We are calling on the government to come and help us," said Alhaj Danliti, the manager of the farm, which is a stone's throw away from the village.
He said the farm had lost 10,000 chickens, almost its entire stock, and he did not know the nature of their disease. Several chickens collapsed and died with a yellow liquid leaking from their beaks.
In Hawan Dawaki, village elder Muhammadu Musa said he and his neighbour had lost about 150 chickens in recent weeks.
"Both the big ones and the newborn ones are dying. When they die we take them and throw them away. We don't eat them," he said.
In Nigeria, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, most poultry is bought and sold live and slaughtered at home.
Chickens run free in the countryside but also in cities, and public transport is usually full of people carrying poultry in their arms or in baskets.
FEARS FOR HUMANS
The outbreak of H5N1, confirmed in Kano and two other Nigerian states, is the first known appearance in Africa of the virus, which has killed at least 88 people mostly in Asia.
Nigeria has reported no human casualties, but it would be hard for authorities to know because health services are almost non-existent, mortality rates are among the highest in the world and people are often buried without a medical check.
The government has ordered suspect birds culled and suspect farms quarantined, but there was little evidence of any concrete measures in the worst affected areas.
On five poultry farms in Kano state, Reuters found no official checks had been carried out on the birds' health and no measures were in place to restrict the movement of poultry. Workers appeared bewildered by questions about bird flu.
"We are trying to get on top of it ... Culling takes place only in farms where the virus has been confirmed," said Junaidu Maina, acting director of the livestock department at the federal Agriculture Ministry in the capital Abuja.
Bird flu experts say culling should take place as early as possible in order to be effective.
"One of our major problems is the issue of protective clothing. What we are using now is what is designed for pest control so you can see our predicament," said Maina.
He said he hoped to receive protective equipment from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation over the weekend.
In Geneva, the World Health Organisation said it was sending a team of 7 or 8 experts to Nigeria to try to stop human cases.
Victims contract the virus through direct contact with infected birds, but there are fears it could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person. If it does, it could spark a global human flu pandemic in which millions could die.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-02-10T164428Z_01_L1094981_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-NIGERIA.xml

 

[HenryN]

Bird Flu Suspected in Lagos

Bird Flu Suspected in Lagos

Bird Flu Suspected in Lagos

Daily Trust (Abuja)

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200602100342.html

NEWS
February 10, 2006 </B>
Posted to the web February 10, 2006

By Olumide Bajulaiye


An outbreak of the dreaded Avian bird influenza, popularly called bird flu, might have hit the Lagos metropolis with some chicken traders reporting that some of their chickens have died mysteriously.
The federal government, on Wednesday announced the outbreak of the deadly disease at Sambawa Farms in Jaji Village, Kaduna State.
Our correspondent who visited some markets in the state and spoke with traders, revealed that their chickens have been dying mysteriously.
A trader who spoke to our correspondent at the Ogba retail market, said she discovered that three of her chickens died without any cause.
Two other traders in the market told our correspondent that there have been mysterious deaths of their chickens in the last two weeks and there has not been any reason for this.
Investigations revealed that no fewer than 200 birds have so far died in Lagos state markets in the last few days with the highest recorded only last Monday where about 70 birds were reported to have died in Ojuwoye market in Mushin area of the state.
Daily Trust learnt that the traders might have decided not to make any official report because of fears that their wares may be seized by officials of the state's ministry of health.
Efforts to speak with the state's Commissioner for Health, Dr. Leke Pitan, proved abortive as he was said to have travelled out of the country.
Meanwhile, residents of the state have spoken of their intention to stop eating chicken and eggs for now until the danger posed by the announcement of the dreaded bird flu in the country clears.
A housewife, Nimota said with the confirmed outbreak of the disease, she must change the regular food timetable of her household until further notice.
Investigations in major markets in the state revealed that the elites who are the major patrons of the chicken delicacy have completely boycotted the product for fear of contracting the bird flu disease.
Reacting to the spread of the disease, Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the federal government to step up efforts to combat the spread of the bird flu disease to other sates of the country, especially Lagos.
The resolution of the House follows the adoption of the motion moved by Mr. Musliu Folami (Ibeju Lekki II) asking the federal government to ensure the safety of chickens and fowls imported into the country before they get to various homes.
Members who spoke on the matter, agreed that bird flu is a deadly disease that must not be allowed to spread.
International experts arrived in three Nigerian states hit by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus yesterday as authorities tried to persuade people to avoid contact with sick birds.
Thousands of chickens have died in northern Nigeria over the past few weeks and the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health confirmed on Wednesday that the deadly H5N1 strain has arrived Africa for the first time.
"(U.N.) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), inspectors are already in Kaduna, Kano and Jos," said an official of the World Health Organization in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
"They want to trace people who have had contacts with sick chickens and send out simple messages that there should be no human-bird contact," she added.
Meanwhile, NEMA in a press statement signed by its information officer, Malam Ibrahim Farinloye advised Nigerians not to panic over the recent outbreak of bird flu in Zaria and Jaji in Kaduna State, pointing out that the risk to humans is oaw.
He explained that there is no single incident of human infection in the country so far adding that, "eating well cooked poultry meat has never been reported to pose any danger to humans and as such, there is no cause for alarm."
Ibrahim who said NEMA and military officials supervised the destruction of the birds at Sambawa Farms and its closure, said symptoms that could occur in infected persons include fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, eye infestions, pneumonia and acute respiratory distress.
Sambawa farms officially under quarantine is now a no-go area for the public and the farm officials until further notice. All the international and local media that thronged the farm yesterday were met by armed military and police personnel who politely turned them away.
<!-- end story layout piece here --><!-- ad -->http://www.recombinomics.com/H5N1_Map_2006_AfricaF.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: WHO: Avian influenza in Africa

Re: WHO: Avian influenza in Africa

Map Update

http://www.recombinomics.com/H5N1_Map_2006_AfricaF.html

 

[viamede]

Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China

Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China

Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China (AFX UK Focus) 2006-02-10 18:00 GMT:
PARIS (AFX) - The strain of bird flu found in Nigerian poultry is the same virus previously detected in Turkey, Europe and China, which suggests it was brought to West Africa by migrant birds, an expert with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said here.
"The new isolate was compared to four isolates from Turkey, two from China and two from Croatia," said Alex Thiermann, special advisor to the director-general of the OIE.
"The homology varies from 99.4 to 100 per cent, which means that we are dealing with exactly the same strains as the previous ones," he said. "It has come from these countries and it is very, very unlikely that it has come through trade, and very likely that it has been through migratory birds," he said. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/cml



http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5549826&action=article

 

[GaudiaRay]

Re: Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China

Re: Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China

viamede Nigerian bird flu virus is same as those found in Turkey, Europe, China (AFX UK Focus) 2006-02-10 18:00 GMT:
PARIS (AFX) - The strain of bird flu found in Nigerian poultry is the same virus previously detected in Turkey, Europe and China, which suggests it was brought to West Africa by migrant birds, an expert with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said here.
"The new isolate was compared to four isolates from Turkey, two from China and two from Croatia," said Alex Thiermann, special advisor to the director-general of the OIE.
"The homology varies from 99.4 to 100 per cent, which means that we are dealing with exactly the same strains as the previous ones," he said. "It has come from these countries and it is very, very unlikely that it has come through trade, and very likely that it has been through migratory birds," he said. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/cml



Hans Stohr is checking with John Oxford to design a series of probative tests to see what make and model of car is responsible for driving down there, because that can be traced back to the chicken vendor/smuggler who brought into Nigeria this terrible disease.

This is such old news that it's painful to see it being restated, yet again, as if it were de novo. Get it? Alex is a special advisor. He is honest. He is totally out of touch with historical reality. We can expect him to say the same thing when the virus appears in W Europe and E North America. We might as well say it for him now. All together now....

 

[viamede]

Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird fluwww.chinaview.cn 2006-02-11 03:56:54
LAGOS, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The northern Nigerian state of Katsina has closed a farm following a suspected outbreak of bird flu, the state commissioner for agriculture, Alhaji Ali Dutsin-Ma,said on Friday.
More than 1,100 chickens have been killed and buried to avoid the spread of the disease at the Nasiha poultry farm in the state capital Katsina, Dutsin-Ma told a news conference in Katsina.
Previously, four farms in the northern states of Kano and Kaduna, and the central state of Plateau, have been closed after the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found there early this week.
Dutsin-Ma said the area where the affected farm was located had also disinfected.
He also stated that samples collected at the farm had already been sent to National Veterinary Institute at Vom near Plateau state capital Jos for analysis.
Dutsin-ma said a massive enlightenment campaign on the disease would be mounted in the state so as to ensure that the problem did not spread to other areas. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/11/content_4163760.htm

 

[HenryN]

Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bbb1 vAlign=center align=middle height=27>http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/11/content_4163760.htm
Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle bgColor=#333333 height=1></TD></TR><TR><TD class=g10 align=middle height=21>www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-11 03:56:54</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=txt_zw cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> LAGOS, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The northern Nigerian state of Katsina has closed a farm following a suspected outbreak of bird flu, the state commissioner for agriculture, Alhaji Ali Dutsin-Ma,said on Friday.
More than 1,100 chickens have been killed and buried to avoid the spread of the disease at the Nasiha poultry farm in the state capital Katsina, Dutsin-Ma told a news conference in Katsina.
Previously, four farms in the northern states of Kano and Kaduna, and the central state of Plateau, have been closed after the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found there early this week.
Dutsin-Ma said the area where the affected farm was located had also disinfected.
He also stated that samples collected at the farm had already been sent to National Veterinary Institute at Vom near Plateau state capital Jos for analysis.
Dutsin-ma said a massive enlightenment campaign on the disease would be mounted in the state so as to ensure that the problem did not spread to other areas. Enditem
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

Re: Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bbb1 vAlign=center align=middle height=27>http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-02/11/content_4163760.htm
Another Nigerian state closes farm following suspected bird flu

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle bgColor=#333333 height=1></TD></TR><TR><TD class=g10 align=middle height=21>www.chinaview.cn 2006-02-11 03:56:54</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=txt_zw cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>LAGOS, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The northern Nigerian state of Katsina has closed a farm following a suspected outbreak of bird flu, the state commissioner for agriculture, Alhaji Ali Dutsin-Ma,said on Friday.
More than 1,100 chickens have been killed and buried to avoid the spread of the disease at the Nasiha poultry farm in the state capital Katsina, Dutsin-Ma told a news conference in Katsina.
Previously, four farms in the northern states of Kano and Kaduna, and the central state of Plateau, have been closed after the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found there early this week.
Dutsin-Ma said the area where the affected farm was located had also disinfected.
He also stated that samples collected at the farm had already been sent to National Veterinary Institute at Vom near Plateau state capital Jos for analysis.
Dutsin-ma said a massive enlightenment campaign on the disease would be mounted in the state so as to ensure that the problem did not spread to other areas. Enditem

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Map updated

http://www.recombinomics.com/H5N1_Map_2006_AfricaF.html

 

[Theresa42]

Ostriches infected??

Ostriches infected??

Nigerian policemen get ready to kill 168 ostrich allegedly infected with the avian flu at the Sambawa farms in Jaji district of Kaduna State. Nigeria struggled to contain Africa's first known outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, as officials warned it is spreading rapidly through poultry flocks in the north of the country.(AFP/File/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

 

[Theresa42]

Nigeria struggles to contain bird flu

Nigeria struggles to contain bird flu

Nigeria struggles to contain bird flu

Nigeria struggled to contain Africa's first known outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, as officials warned it is spreading rapidly through poultry flocks in the north of the country.

Agriculture Minister Adamu Bello met with diplomats and UN agencies to appeal for funding and technical support to help combat a virus which has killed tens of thousands of chickens and threatens humans.

"We briefed them on the outbreak and indicated to them the kind of resource requirements that are likely to arise," he said.

"We told them that we need facilities such as laboratories, vaccines and technical support."

Overnight, police and agricultural officers had moved into the farm at the epicentre of the explosion of avian influenza, shot ostriches and bulldozed the charred remains of 45,000 cremated chickens into the ground.

But there were signs that emergency measures -- which are soon to be supported by international agencies -- might be coming too late, one month after poultry started falling victim to what was then a mystery infection.

A senior official from the northern state of Kano, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that 16 farms in his area were now thought to be infected by bird flu and that 100,000 chickens had died.

Bello said in Abuja that so far only four farms -- two in Kano State, one near Kaduna and one 200 kilometres (125 miles) away in Plateau State in Nigeria's central highlands -- had been formally identified as infected.

But a farmer's representative said the outbreak was spreading fast.
"We have 30 farms that have been affected, and we're still counting," said Auwalu Haruna, head of the Kano Poultry Farmers' Association.

In neighbouring Kaduna State, zonal agriculture director Sa'idu Baba Chori said that so far only one farm had been confirmed to be affected, but said a nearby household where two children had fallen ill was being investigated.

"It's a house where they raise turkey, geese and chickens," he said.
Shortly after birds started dying in the house, the owner's two children began coughing up blood, officials said. Tests are being carried out to see if they have bird flu, Chori said, "but it's too early to tell".

In Paris, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said tests had confirmed that the Nigerian outbreak was from the same strain of bird flu as had proved fatal to humans in Turkey and China.

"It has come from these countries and it is very very unlikely that it has come through trade, and very likely that it has been through migratory birds," said Alex Thiermann, special advisor to the director-general of the OIE.

The H5N1 strain can pass from birds to humans -- usually farmers or traders in direct contact with live animals -- and has already killed 89 people, mainly in Asia, since it emerged in Hong Kong in 1997.

However if it mutates into a form transmissible between people it could cause a pandemic killing tens of millions, experts warn.

"The H5N1 virus now confirmed in Nigeria poses a risk to human health and livelihood," World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Lee Jong-wook said, in a statement.

"If the H5N1 virus changes to allow it to pass easily from person to person, and if it goes unchecked, this could trigger an influenza pandemic," he said.

"H5N1 is spreading rapidly across the world. All countries must take measures to protect human health against avian flu and prepare for a pandemic."

The WHO said it was sending a seven-member team of experts this weekend to Nigeria and would use a mass polio vaccination beginning Saturday to help detect possible human cases of bird flu.

Two other UN bodies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health, called on Nigerian authorities to immediately close down poultry markets.

The agencies said they would also send a joint mission to Nigeria within 48 hours, to assess the situation and advise of further emergency measures.

"The movement of poultry should be stopped immediately to contain the disease. People should not import or trade livestock or livestock products," they said in a joint statement.

They said Nigeria's neighbours Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Niger and Togo should increase surveillance and veterinary staff tighten border inspections.

The UN bodies welcomed emergency measures already put in place by Nigeria in the affected areas, but said controls "need to be intensified, applying standard procedures recommended by FAO and OIE guidelines."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060211/ts_afp/healthflunigeria_060210194803

 

[ukcz]

Bird flu reaches Africa + 'dead birds don't fly' (again)

Bird flu reaches Africa + 'dead birds don't fly' (again)

Published online: 9 February 2006

Bird flu reaches Africa
Experts fear poverty and lack of infrastructure may spread disease.

Declan Butler

The H5NI avian flu virus has broken out in battery farms of poultry in Nigeria; it's the first time the disease has been reported in Africa.

H5N1 spread from birds in Asia to flocks in Eurasia last summer. Its appearance in Africa marks a massive leap in the geographical extension of the virus's range

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a statement warning that unless it is strictly controlled, H5N1 can easily become endemic in poultry. They add that experience shows that wherever there is disease in poultry, there is inevitably the risk of human cases. That risk is high in Nigeria, and in many parts of Africa, because backyard poultry farms are common.

The arrival of H5N1 in Africa is a scenario experts have long dreaded, as poverty and lack of infrastructure make control much more difficult. Detection is hard enough in richer countries, experts note. Recent outbreaks in poultry in Turkey were detected and reported only after surveillance was stepped up following the occurrence of human cases.

Few African countries have surveillance systems for H5N1. The outbreak in Jaji village in the northern Kaduna state of Nigeria, which killed 40,000 battery chickens, in fact began on 10 January, but was only reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in the first week of February. The owner of the farm, which also houses ostriches and geese, initially treated the sick flocks with antibiotics. These drugs are useless against viral infections.

On the wing?

It is still unclear whether the new outbreak has been caused by virus carried by migratory birds from Eurasia, or by the trade and movement of poultry or poultry products, says Joseph Domenech, the chief veterinary officer of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Circumstantial evidence points to Nigeria being a destination of several migrant birds from Eurasia. But migratory birds have been flying into Africa from Eurasia for much of the autumn, so if they are to blame, it is odd that many more outbreaks have not been seen across the vast swathes of Africa where they overwinter (see 'Migration threatens to send flu south'). In most of the cases worldwide, trade has been the agent of spread.

Ongoing sequencing of the virus by the OIE/FAO reference laboratory for avian flu in Padova, Italy, should throw some light on the geographic origins of the strain involved. Both agencies have also dispatched a team of experts to the area, to get a better picture of the extent and spread of the disease, and to advise on control measures. Die-offs of poultry have recently been reported in the next door province of Kano.

If the virus has spread to backyard farms, the WHO will launch public-information campaigns to warn of high-risk behaviours, including the slaughtering or butchering of diseased birds. But such an operation will face challenges such as poor literacy and difficulty in distributing information.

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060206/full/060206-7.html

 

[ukcz]

Nigeria starts testing people for bird flu: WHO

Nigeria starts testing people for bird flu: WHO

Nigeria starts testing people for bird flu: WHO
Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:01 AM ET166
By Daniel Flynn

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria has started testing people who have fallen ill close to where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Saturday.

No human cases of bird flu have been reported in Africa's most populous country, where H5N1 has killed tens of thousands of poultry, but it is hard for authorities to monitor because of high mortality rates from many other diseases.

"Our field officers are already there, in those farms and nearby. We are monitoring and taking samples. We are concerned about the possibility of a human case," said Lola Sadiq, in charge of coordinating the bird flu response at WHO headquarters in Abuja.

"This is a tropical environment where there are lots of diseases, so we need to watch closely and take a lot of swabs. They will be tested here first and if there is any suspicion (of bird flu) they will send samples abroad," she said.

Sadiq said the WHO had received information about two people who were feared to have contracted the disease in Kaduna state, close to Sambawa Farms where one of the poultry samples that tested positive for H5N1 came from.

But she said there was no certainty for now and authorities wanted to avoid causing panic.

Experts fear the H5N1 strain, which has killed at least 88 people in Asia and the Middle East since early 2003, may mutate into a form that can spread from human to human. They fear this could cause a global flu pandemic that could kill millions.

FIRST AFRICAN OUTBREAK

The outbreak of H5N1 in Nigeria -- its first known appearance on the continent -- has worried health experts but left almost all those in the affected areas in Kaduna, Kano and Plateau states ignorant of the danger facing them.

H5N1 has been confirmed on four farms in the three northern states, and other farmers and villagers are reporting mass deaths of poultry.

However, trade in live fowl is unabated in the region and people are moving chickens around in public transport as usual.

In the countryside, farmers in normal clothes and sandals are using their bare hands to throw dead and dying chickens on fires while village children stand by to watch. They say they do not know the nature of the illness killing the birds.

One key challenge facing authorities in the fight against bird flu is that poultry is everywhere in Nigeria -- in people's village backyards, in city streets, by the side of the road, in crowded markets, on buses.

Chicken is a staple of the Nigerian diet and, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, most poultry is bought live and slaughtered at home because people have no access to refrigerators.

In rural areas, most people are far too poor to buy newspapers or television sets. In most villages there is no electricity, running water or paved road. Health services are almost non-existent.

The government has ordered suspect birds culled and suspect farms quarantined, but the measures have not been implemented yet and on the ground there has been little sign of a concrete response from authorities.

The government also said it would pay 250 naira ($2) for every chicken culled in the campaign against bird flu, but it has not given any details of how the scheme will work in practice.

(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon in Abuja)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...RUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-NIGERIA.xml&archived=False

 

[Mellie]

Re: 2 more Nigerian States have H5N1

Re: 2 more Nigerian States have H5N1

I posted NPR articles yesterday (listen to them) that said the Nigerian H5N1 had been sequenced and the "genetic fingerprint" shows it is more than 95% similar to Turkey, Croatia, Siberia and China. I had to laugh that the unspoken message there is that recombination does occur. Paradigm shift! And that wild birds are spreading the disease.

 

[CreativeOne]

People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=37585


People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria
This Article
Also Appears In
Infectious Diseases/Bacteria/Viruses




Main Category: Flu/Bird Flu/SARS News
Article Date: 11 Feb 2006 - 15:00pm (UK)

Two people have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms near the Sambawa Farms, Kaduna, where chickens are infected with the lethal H5N1 Bird Flu virus strain. Nigerian authorities say they are trying to establish whether these two people have been infected with the bird flu virus.

A few days bird flu infection among chickens was confirmed in northen Nigeria, in the state of Kaduna. A couple of days later it spilled into bordering states.

Information given out by Nigerian authorities as to exactly how many people may have bird flu like symptoms is patchy. Some say there are two people, while others say there are ?a few' suspected cases.

An rumour that a human case of bird flu was found in the south of Nigeria. There is no confirmation on whether this is true.

At the moment the procedure for confirming bird flu infection is as follows:

1. A sample is taken.
2. It is sent to a lab in Nigeria.
3. If it tests negative, that is the end of it.
4. It it tests positive, it is then sent abroad for confirmation.

Bird flu has made its way from Viet Nam, in south east Asia, across the world to Nigeria, in west Africa. Africa is a vast continent. If the virus spills over into Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the poorest regions in the world with a population of 600 million people, it will be extremely difficult to monitor. Local health experts say it would be virtually impossible to ask people in Sub Saharan Africa, many of whom are facing starvation, to surrender their chickens for culling.

People in Europe are concerned about the coming of Spring, when birds migrate from Africa to Europe (and parts of Asia).

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: 2 more Nigerian States have H5N1

Re: 2 more Nigerian States have H5N1


Bird flu discovered in two more Nigerian states

Jeevan Vasagar in Nairobi and agencies
Friday February 10, 2006
The Guardian

Fears of an outbreak of bird flu in Africa grew yesterday after government officials confirmed that the deadly strain of the virus had been discovered in two more Nigerian states.The first documented case of H5N1 bird flu in Africa was reported on Wednesday at a farm in Kaduna state, in the north of Africa's most populous country. Agriculture ministry officials said yesterday the strain had been confirmed at two farms in Kano state and one in Plateau state.




Poultry farms across northern Nigeria were quarantined yesterday as the government gave orders to cull birds at farms where there had been suspicious deaths. It promised to compensate farmers.The World Health Organisation said last night the development was "a cause for great concern" and demanded "immediate action". Its director general, Dr Lee Jong-wook, said the outbreak meant "no country is immune to H5N1. Every country is at risk. Every country must prepare."
Chickens started dying in large numbers in northern Nigeria four weeks ago, raising fears that the virus could have spread across the country and possibly into neighbouring west African states before its presence was confirmed. In recent weeks the price of chicken in the markets has plummeted as farmers have rushed to sell diseased birds. No human infections have been reported in Nigeria, but 40,000 birds died at the Kaduna farm at which the virus was first reported.



The battery farm, which is owned by the country's sports minister, Saidu Balarabe Sambawa, had 46,000 chicken, geese and ostriches. At the farm 15 concrete hangars used as chicken pens were empty yesterday and workers said that all the birds had died about a month ago.
Around 20 riot police sat in the shade of trees guarding the farm, but did not prevent journalists and villagers from walking among the buildings. Foul-smelling pits were visible at the back, and about 40 ostriches wandered around in a field.
A team of government officials who visited the farm in search of human victims was unable to speak to its management. Aliyu Sale, one of the officials, said: "We want to find out if it's affecting people. Unfortunately we couldn't meet anybody and all the chickens have died already." The sports minister is attending the African Cup tournament in Egypt.
Nigeria has a poultry population of about 140m. Millions of people keep chicken in their backyards. Because they lack refrigerators, most people buy chickens live and slaughter them just before cooking - thereby increasing the risk of human infection. The WHO said: "If the virus has spread to household flocks, public information campaigns will be needed to warn populations to avoid high-risk behaviour, including slaughtering, defeathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of diseased poultry."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/birdflu/story/0,,1706762,00.html

 

[CreativeOne]

Re: People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

Re: People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

Agreed. We are only seeing the begining of a horrific event. Many people may already or have already been ill but with poor/nil heathcare sources many will not even be tested and therfor never listed as H5N1 postive.

Horrible Day.

 

[MichaelJFox]

Re: People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

Re: People Falling Ill Near To Chickens With Bird Flu, Nigeria

They cant even control malaria and people die from simple diseases all the time. I estimate that 100,000+ have already died there, there is just no way to know, a lab in Nigeria is probably a guy with a 1940's microscope and a couple pieces of used litmus paper. Hell look at how fast aids has spread in Africa, and look how hard that is to get. I am really nervous about all of it.