Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
<TR><TD>Bird flu: C?River sets committee to check spread</TD></TR><TR><TD>http://www.thetidenews.com/repRec.aspx?qrName= ? Saturday, Feb 10, 2007</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Against the backdrop of Bird-Flu prevalence across the country, the Cross River State Government has set up a high-powered steering committee to check the spread of the disease (virus) in the state.
The committee has the state Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, as chairman while other members include the vice chairman of the State Planning Commission, commissioners for Agriculture, Health and Environment, among others.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Calabar, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Ana, explained that the committee has also set up two Desk offices in both ministries of Health and Agriculture to help coordinate the findings of the stakeholders across the state.
According to him, the surveillance team is empowered to monitor the entry points of poultry products, so as to ensure that only healthy poultry products were allowed into the state.
Commissioner Ana hinted that the issue of Bird-Flu came up in 2006, just as the state immediately swung into action, but stressed that up till date, there had not been any reported case of the virus anywhere in Cross River State.
He said a lot of advocacy and education of the Bird-Flu had been on, especially as it concerns day-old chicks.
?We are going to be more proactive in this regard. A lot of advocacy and sensitisation currently going on. The state has put certain mechanisms in motion hence, the setting up of the Desk Officers or Programme Managers,? the commissioner declared.
The commissioner however, advised Cross Riverians and indeed Nigerians, to cook their chicks well and properly boil the eggs before eating to check being anybody the virus would have killed during the process, stressing that experts are still investigating the possibility of transferring such virus from animal to human today.
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http://www.thetidenews.com/article....ommittee to check spread&qrColumn=NIGER DELTA
Against the backdrop of Bird-Flu prevalence across the country, the Cross River State Government has set up a high-powered steering committee to check the spread of the disease (virus) in the state.
The committee has the state Governor, Mr. Donald Duke, as chairman while other members include the vice chairman of the State Planning Commission, commissioners for Agriculture, Health and Environment, among others.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Calabar, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Ana, explained that the committee has also set up two Desk offices in both ministries of Health and Agriculture to help coordinate the findings of the stakeholders across the state.
According to him, the surveillance team is empowered to monitor the entry points of poultry products, so as to ensure that only healthy poultry products were allowed into the state.
Commissioner Ana hinted that the issue of Bird-Flu came up in 2006, just as the state immediately swung into action, but stressed that up till date, there had not been any reported case of the virus anywhere in Cross River State.
He said a lot of advocacy and education of the Bird-Flu had been on, especially as it concerns day-old chicks.
?We are going to be more proactive in this regard. A lot of advocacy and sensitisation currently going on. The state has put certain mechanisms in motion hence, the setting up of the Desk Officers or Programme Managers,? the commissioner declared.
The commissioner however, advised Cross Riverians and indeed Nigerians, to cook their chicks well and properly boil the eggs before eating to check being anybody the virus would have killed during the process, stressing that experts are still investigating the possibility of transferring such virus from animal to human today.
</TD></TR>
http://www.thetidenews.com/article....ommittee to check spread&qrColumn=NIGER DELTA