Nigerian bird flu spreads despite clean-up

KANO – Nigerian officials battled to contain an outbreak of a deadly strain of bird flu at the weekend amid reports that it is spreading rapidly through poultry flocks and approaching the Niger border.

Agricultural officials were preparing to quarantine and disinfect two farms where tens of thousands of birds have died on the outskirts of Kano, a city of several million people sitting astride a major trade route. But even as the clean-up team donned their protective suits, officials 170km further north warned of another suspected outbreak of H5N1 avian flu in Katsina, a short distance from Nigeria’s northern frontier.If confirmed, this case would show that Africa’s first outbreak of the deadly strain of the disease has now spread into four northern Nigerian states and will fuel fears of a widespread, pan-continental epidemic.”We have identified a farm here in the metropolis which has been infected by a disease we suspect to be bird flu,” Katsina State agriculture commissioner Ali Hussein Dutsin-Ma said from Katsina city, 15km from Niger.Dutsin-Ma said the “visible signs” of the disease were identical to those in cases further south, where tens of thousands of chickens, geese and ostriches have died or been culled since Nigeria confirmed the outbreak on Wednesday.”However, we’ve taken samples from the chicken to the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom for laboratory analysis to confirm the nature of the disease,” he said, adding that 1 116 surviving chickens had been culled.Nigeria’s agriculture ministry has confirmed four outbreaks of avian flu in farms in the states of Kaduna, Kano and Plateau, but officials privately admit that the problem is already much more widespread.Farmers’ representatives say that 30 farms are infected in Kano alone.United Nations health experts believe the H5N1 type of bird flu was brought to Africa by migrating birds from Asia and southeast Europe, where the virus has killed at least 88 people since 2003.The World Health Organisation and other UN agencies have urged Nigeria to crack down fast on outbreaks to prevent its spread through a vulnerable continent, and have sent their own staff to help out.- Nampa-AFPBut even as the clean-up team donned their protective suits, officials 170km further north warned of another suspected outbreak of H5N1 avian flu in Katsina, a short distance from Nigeria’s northern frontier.If confirmed, this case would show that Africa’s first outbreak of the deadly strain of the disease has now spread into four northern Nigerian states and will fuel fears of a widespread, pan-continental epidemic.”We have identified a farm here in the metropolis which has been infected by a disease we suspect to be bird flu,” Katsina State agriculture commissioner Ali Hussein Dutsin-Ma said from Katsina city, 15km from Niger.Dutsin-Ma said the “visible signs” of the disease were identical to those in cases further south, where tens of thousands of chickens, geese and ostriches have died or been culled since Nigeria confirmed the outbreak on Wednesday.”However, we’ve taken samples from the chicken to the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom for laboratory analysis to confirm the nature of the disease,” he said, adding that 1 116 surviving chickens had been culled.Nigeria’s agriculture ministry has confirmed four outbreaks of avian flu in farms in the states of Kaduna, Kano and Plateau, but officials privately admit that the problem is already much more widespread.Farmers’ representatives say that 30 farms are infected in Kano alone.United Nations health experts believe the H5N1 type of bird flu was brought to Africa by migrating birds from Asia and southeast Europe, where the virus has killed at least 88 people since 2003.The World Health Organisation and other UN agencies have urged Nigeria to crack down fast on outbreaks to prevent its spread through a vulnerable continent, and have sent their own staff to help out.- Nampa-AFP