Panic over Nigeria bird flu

DAKAR, Senegal – The discovery of a fatal bird flu strain in Africa is stoking fears the virus may be spreading undetected elsewhere on the continent, where some countries don’t even have equipment to test for the strain and some villagers may be unaware of the disease’s threat.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was reported on Wednesday on a commercial farm in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna, the first time the virus has been documented in Africa. Yesterday, Nigerian authorities reported the same virus in two other states.”Are there more out there that we do not know of?” Juan Lubroth, a senior animal health officer at the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said yesterday.Nigeria imposed a quarantine on poultry farms across the north of the country after the virus was reported, and other countries like Mauritania and Gabon have announced they’re blocking poultry imports from affected nations.But those measures may fall far short of stopping the disease’s spread in Africa.Beset by poverty, war and hunger, sub-Saharan Africa is particularly ill-equipped to deal with a major health crisis.It will need money, drugs and protective suits.Officials in Ethiopia and Uganda said they don’t have testing equipment to detect the H5N1 strain of the virus, which has caused human as well as bird deaths in Asia and spread to Europe and the Middle East.Experts fear H5N1 could evolve into a strain that can be passed easily from human to human, not just bird to human, setting off a devastating pandemic.”The weakest point is that they don’t have the infrastructure to detect and take action,” Alex Thiermann, a UN animal health expert said.Mulugeta Debalkew, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said: “Our fear is that most of the countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, don’t have enough resources, manpower and other related necessities to tackle the problem,” said Even if the flu strain is limited to bird-life, it could devastate the livelihoods of millions of people on the continent, the majority of whom make their living from agriculture.- Nampa-APYesterday, Nigerian authorities reported the same virus in two other states.”Are there more out there that we do not know of?” Juan Lubroth, a senior animal health officer at the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said yesterday.Nigeria imposed a quarantine on poultry farms across the north of the country after the virus was reported, and other countries like Mauritania and Gabon have announced they’re blocking poultry imports from affected nations.But those measures may fall far short of stopping the disease’s spread in Africa.Beset by poverty, war and hunger, sub-Saharan Africa is particularly ill-equipped to deal with a major health crisis.It will need money, drugs and protective suits.Officials in Ethiopia and Uganda said they don’t have testing equipment to detect the H5N1 strain of the virus, which has caused human as well as bird deaths in Asia and spread to Europe and the Middle East.Experts fear H5N1 could evolve into a strain that can be passed easily from human to human, not just bird to human, setting off a devastating pandemic.”The weakest point is that they don’t have the infrastructure to detect and take action,” Alex Thiermann, a UN animal health expert said.Mulugeta Debalkew, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said: “Our fear is that most of the countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, don’t have enough resources, manpower and other related necessities to tackle the problem,” said Even if the flu strain is limited to bird-life, it could devastate the livelihoods of millions of people on the continent, the majority of whom make their living from agriculture.- Nampa-AP