Nigeria: FG Tasked On Bird Flu
February 6, 2007
Posted to the web February 6, 2007
Florence Udoh
Lagos
America's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based in Atlanta has advised the Nigeria government to immediately take steps to scale up nationwide surveillance and monitoring of the poultry disease, bird flu.
The advice came in the wake of reports that a woman was confirmed dead in Lagos through the disease.
Speaking yesterday in Lagos at a seminar organized by Internews, Lagos office for journalists, Mr. Dan Rutz, CDC associate director, said that effective use of disease monitoring framework urgently put in place would go a long way to strengthen government's response to the Bird flu out-break.
He emphasized that, "efforts should be redoubled to increase risk prevention (bio-safety) among farmers and other groups of people who have regular direct contact with poultry products?.
Such steps include: Avoid contacts with sick or infected birds, ensure high hygienic standards and handle slaughter knives with gloves among other safety measures".
Bird flu was first reported in Nigeria last year February, and there were many cases of outbreak then in Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Kaduna leading to loss of hundreds of poultry birds. Many of such birds were destroyed in quarantine efforts.
Then last week there was a case of a 23-year-old lady who died from bird flu infection in Lagos .
Bird flu also called Avian Influenza, is caused by a virus that occurs in birds particularly chickens, ducks, and swans.
February 6, 2007
Posted to the web February 6, 2007
Florence Udoh
Lagos
America's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based in Atlanta has advised the Nigeria government to immediately take steps to scale up nationwide surveillance and monitoring of the poultry disease, bird flu.
The advice came in the wake of reports that a woman was confirmed dead in Lagos through the disease.
Speaking yesterday in Lagos at a seminar organized by Internews, Lagos office for journalists, Mr. Dan Rutz, CDC associate director, said that effective use of disease monitoring framework urgently put in place would go a long way to strengthen government's response to the Bird flu out-break.
He emphasized that, "efforts should be redoubled to increase risk prevention (bio-safety) among farmers and other groups of people who have regular direct contact with poultry products?.
Such steps include: Avoid contacts with sick or infected birds, ensure high hygienic standards and handle slaughter knives with gloves among other safety measures".
Bird flu was first reported in Nigeria last year February, and there were many cases of outbreak then in Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Kaduna leading to loss of hundreds of poultry birds. Many of such birds were destroyed in quarantine efforts.
Then last week there was a case of a 23-year-old lady who died from bird flu infection in Lagos .
Bird flu also called Avian Influenza, is caused by a virus that occurs in birds particularly chickens, ducks, and swans.