The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bird flu

  • New outbreak of bird flu spreads to 21 states

    A new outbreak of Avian Influenza (bird flu) has been reported in 85 local government areas in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Federal Government has said.

    Cases of bird flu were first reported in January by the government in over 11 states.

    The government said the new outbreak which has been reported in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Oyo, Enugu, Abia and the FCT, occurred between July and last month.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sonny Echono, who spoke at a meeting with stakeholders in the poultry industry, said that 491 farmers have been affected by the disease.

    Echono said that 1, 597, 191 birds have been depopulated so far.

    The permanent secretary said government has started the decontamination of affected farms and birds to curtail the spread of the disease.

    He said: “As you are probably aware, the resurgence of Avian Influenza as at today has spread to 85 local government areas (LGAs) in 21 states and the FCT, affecting 491 farms.

    “The disease has continued to spread mainly in the southern states and the latest outbreaks reported between July and September, 2015 in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Enugu, Abia, Rivers, and FCT.

    “These new outbreaks have been attributed to non-compliance to biosecurity in farms, limited awareness creation on disease among poultry farmers, disregard to public policy on sitting of poultry farms and other enforcement protocols which are expected to be implemented by the states.”

    Echono said government has agreed to pay N1.1 billion as compensation to 138 affected farmers.

  • Osun moves to prevent Bird Flu

    Osun moves to prevent Bird Flu

    The Osun government is doing everything possible to case of Avian Influenza (otherwise known as bird flu) in the state, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy Olusegun Aduroja has said.

    He spoke at a workshop for poultry farmers, farm attendants, agricultural extension workers, agricultural science lecturers.

    He said the government was taking preventive measures through the workshops to prepare stakeholders in the poultry farm sub sector to against possible outbreak of the disease in the state. .

    The state government partnered with a private poultry giant, Tuns Farm Limited. Its Managing Director, Olalekan Badmus, said the sensitisation was also intended to equip the public with the basic tips on the prevention and control of the disease. However, he allayed the fear about the epidemic, assuring that it had not occurred in Osun.

    Badmus said only 15 cases of the disease had been traced to small farms in the affected states.

    He said preventive measures had since been taken by the government and experts by destroying the affected birds in the affected farms.

    He assured of the government’s efforts to ensure effective management of the control posts to check indiscriminate entry of poultry products into Osun, especially from states where cases of the epidemic had been reported.

    Badmus also said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had since assured the public that the situation was under control.

    On the level of the awareness programmes so far, Badmus said  Tuns Farms had sponsored a handbook on prevention and control of the disease, adding that the book had since been in circulation in all the parts of the state.

    Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Osun State Chapter, Chief Oluyemi Olukiran, said: “There are 36 states in the country with hundreds of farms in each state, if AI only affects three farms in Lagos, Rivers and Kano states, the situation can’t be said to be epidemic and should not be blown out of proportion. The signal from where it occurred is a warning to other farms from those states and the remaining 33 states to take preventive measure against the onslaught of the disease. Our farmers are advised to immunise their birds properly, the farm attendants and visitors should make use of disinfectants, the access to the birds by the visitors should be controlled and also exchange of farm implements should be avoided.”

    The Deputy Director, Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Abosede Olatokun, stressed that the key to adequate bio-security is the maintenance of good hygiene both within and around their poultry farms.

    She urged the poultry farmers to always watch and control the entry of people and other animals from other farms into their farms, adding that they should try as much as possible to avoid borrowing materials to be used in their own farms from other farms.

    Another speaker, Dr. O. Tanimowo enlightened the participants on early detection and prevention of the disease so as not to allow it spread to other places.

    They advised the participants to adhere to the instructions of the lectures so that the presence of the disease will not find way into the state.

    Also delivering a lecture on proper medication for poultry birds, Dr. Adisa Adaramola, urged farmers to urgently seek help from experts if a particular drug fails to give the desired results after administering it on birds. While advising the farmers against self-medication on their birds, the poultry health expert charged the farmers to take precautionary measures at all times.

    In another lecture, while the participants were advised to report signs of the disease to the state office, they were also urged to endeavour to keep records and statistics of activities on their farms very well so that it can be easy to deal with the cases.

    Mr. Nurudeen Ibrahim of Adeen Farms, Ede and Mr. Oladepo Lawal of Labake Farms, praised the state government for organising the  workshops.

    On behalf of other participants, they said they have been equipped to guide against the deadly scourge.

    The Coordinating Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwabukola Aluko, who expressed appreciation to the administration Governor Rauf Arebgesola for the workshops, called on the farmers and other stakeholders to protect themselves and the state from contracting the disease.

    Aluko urged the participants to be vigilant and report any strange disease affecting birds to the appropriate quarters for the necessary action. She gave out telephone numbers to the participants in case of emergencies.

    Bird flu was first recorded in Sambawa Farm in Kaduna, Kaduna State  in August 2006.

    It re-emerged in January, last year in Kano and Lagos states. Early this year, about 322 farms in 18 states were affected.

  • US, Nigeria partner to combat bird flu

    US, Nigeria partner to combat bird flu

    In response to the bird flu (avian influenza) outbreak in Nigeria, the United States (US) Agency for International Development (USAID) supported a workshop for poultry industry officials.

    Over 160 participants from the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Health and the poultry sector participated in the training in Ibadan on how to control avian influenza.

    Last week, a similar workshop took place in Kano for northern-based authorities in the sector.

    Speaking during the opening session of the workshop, the U.S Consul General in Lagos, Jeffery J. Hawkins said: “The United States is bringing supplies and training as part of our contribution to fight bird flu; but we cannot do it alone.

    “The ability of Nigeria to quickly detect and respond to avian influenza will be enhanced by the partnerships, platforms, and knowledge built over the past decade.”

    In addition to the training, USAID/Nigeria will contribute personal protective equipment, surveillance gear and disinfectants to relevant authorities.

    Bird flu is a viral disease that largely infects birds but rarely infects man.  In 2007, there was one human case in Nigeria.  However, there are no known human cases in Nigeria so far in the current outbreak.  Globally, the majority of human cases of infection are associated with contact with infected live or dead poultry. Controlling the disease in poultry is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.

    Since 2006, the U.S government, through USAID, the U.S Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S Department of Agriculture, has contributed approximately $1,750,000 in response to the bird flu outbreak in Nigeria. USAID contributes $473 million a year to improve health and education, create jobs and improve public administration in Nigeria. USAID also has humanitarian programmes providing emergency response in Nigeria’s northeast.

  • ‘Don’t panic over bird flu outbreak’

    The outbreak of bird flu, aka avian influenza, in some parts of the country will not pose any threat to public health, the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) has said.

    PAN president Dr Ayoola Oduntan, said the disease is well-controlled, adding that the type, which occurred in the country, does not kill.

    He said the type of bird flu in Nigeria does not pose any threat to  lives because “it is only a disease of birds, which rarely affects man”.

    According to him, there are 15 sub-types of avian influenza. Only two are capable of affecting humans.

    “The two deadly types of bird flu have never occurred in Nigeria before,” he added.

    Explaining how they become deadly, Oduntan said each of them must mutate before it can become harmful enough to pose any risk to man.

    He advised people, especially farmers, to check for symptoms of bird flu, which include chicken’s ruffled feather or soft-shelled eggs.

    Others are when chicken is depressed and shows droopiness or when there is sudden drop in egg production. There is also loss of appetite, cyanosis (purplish-blue colouring) of wattles and comb, edema as well as swelling of head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks.

    The chickens could also have symptoms of green diarrhoea, blood-tinged discharge from nostrils, in-coordination, including loss of ability to walk and stand and pin-point hemorrhages (most easily seen on the feet and shanks). Also, there is respiratory distress, increased death losses in a flock, sudden death and nasal discharges.

    The association said the outbreak is subsiding, adding that it was better managed than the one, which occurred in 2006.

    Oduntan said the simple method of curtailing the spread is having bio-security in place to nip the disease in the bud.

    “Also, any farm with weak bio-security needs to ensure that it is strengthened. By so doing, the disease would be prevented,” he said.

    The PAN chair said most places affected by the outbreak are mushroom farms where bio-security in either poor or non-existent.

    He said the disease is not new in most advanced countries, such as the United States, Britain and Thailand as well as Egypt, among others but is treated as a mere disease of birds without much dust being raised over it. “Nobody in those countries is shouting about it, rather they control the epidemic and they keep moving on,” he said.

    Oduntan spoke of eggs being produced by chickens as the most nutritious food next to breast milk, adding that people should not because of the incident stop eating it.

    “It is excellent for the foetus, children and expectant mothers as well as everybody,” he said.

    The sector, he said, has provided jobs for no fewer than 12 million people across the country, adding that it can employ more people with the government’s help.

    He said people through their criticism, which is not constructive, have been pulling the sector down since the outbreak.

    The Federal Government said no fewer than 10,000 chickens in more than 10 farms across Nigeria have reported cases of bird flu.

  • Bird Flu hits Bauchi, kills over 9,000 birds

    At least 9,208 birds have been killed by the Avian Influenza, commonly referred to as Bird Flu, in three local government areas of Bauchi State.

    The affected local governments are – Bauchi, Toro and Katagum LGAs.

    The state’s Commissioner for Animal Resources and Nomadic Resettlement, Mr. Umar Giade, confirmed the outbreak in the during a sensitization visit to Toro local council area on Friday.

    He said 10 poultry farms have been hit by the disease and more may be affected.

    “About 558 assorted species of birds in seven poultry farms in Toro local government area alone have been wiped out by the flu. Out of the total number, 9,208 were earlier killed by the rampaging avian influenza,” the commissioner stated.

    Toro local government area, The Nation gathered has the highest number of affected poultry farms in the state because of the conducive weather and peaceful nature of the area.

     

  • Ministry: no bird flu in Obasanjo farms

    Ministry: no bird flu in Obasanjo farms

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has dismissed a media report claiming that bird flu has attacked Obasanjo’s farm.

    The ministry described the write-up as “a false alarm, a misleading assertion and an attempt to exaggerate the bird flu outbreaks within the nation beyond proportion so as to set off undue panic”.

    The ministry claimed that following the report, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, dispatched the Federal Director of Veterinary Services and his workers to ascertain the facts on the ground.

    He also contacted Ogun State Commissioner of Agriculture Ronke Sokefun to get the state ministry to verify the veracity of the said publication.

    “Based on thorough investigation of the published outbreak, which did not emanate from any of the official channels of bird flu reporting, it has been found that no such outbreak occurred.

    “The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, therefore, hereby appeals to the general public to disregard the reported bird flu case(s) on Obasanjo Farms,” the ministry stated.

  • Bird Flu: Fed Govt pays N140m to farmers

    Bird Flu: Fed Govt pays N140m to farmers

    The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina  said  the Federal Government has paid over N140million as compensation to  farmers affected by the outbreak of the bird flu in the country.

    He  made this known  in Kano.

    He further said of the total amount paid to those affected farmers, Kano farmers got N100million representing 72 percent of those who lost their birds and those de-populated.

    Adesina, who paid a courtesy visit to Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in his office, said out of the 16 states that were affected, Kano had the highest number of poultry farms affected which stood at 58 out of the 104 representing 56 percent.

    According to him, Kano also have the highest mortality rate, which is 21,447 out of 72,885,which is about 30percent of the 15 local government of the 44 that are affected, pointing out that,” we have done a lot in the de-populating the birds by working closely with the states Ministry of Agriculture.

    “We have been able to de-populate 299,883 out of a total of 417,041. We have some challenges facing us, which we are soliciting Governor Kwankwaso’s intervention which is in the area of lack of compliance on farm quarantine, which is in the aspect of uncontrolled movement of birds from one farm to the other, which required the vigorous sensitisation and enforcement of quarantine couple with security of those clustered farms,” he added.

    Adesina explained that if we don’t clamp down on Kano over the bird flu issue, states like Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi and others risk being affected, adding: “The only measure is to have inter-state border posts, where staff of the state and Federal Ministry of Agriculture can man and checkmate the movement of birds through a control measure that will not create panic and as such we are on top of the situation’’.

    Under the growth enhancement scheme, over 1million farmers in Kano State in three years have benefitted from the subsidy of seeds and fertiliser from the partnership between the Federal Government and the state.

    The minister further explained that, the Federal Government has also approved a staple crops processing zone, in a new way of clustering production zone of food production under the Agricultural Production Zone (APZ), where the private sectors from those cities they are positioned to the rural space, by encouraging them to establish food manufacturing and processing plants by processing those crops like tomatoes, cassava, rice, sorghum as well as diary so that we can create new economic zones for the rural areas.

    He said for the staple crops process zones, the government has been able to attract N1billion from the World Bank, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and private sector for the provision of the needed infrastructure.

  • Bird Flu: Fed Govt pays N140m to farmers

    Agriculture Minister Dr. Akinwumi Adeshina said yesterday that the Federal Government has paid over N140 million as compensation to farmers affected by the bird flu outbreak.

    The minister, who spoke in Kano, added that of the total amount paid to those affected, Kano farmers got N100 million, representing 72 per cent of those who lost their birds and those de-populated.

    Dr. Adeshina, who visited Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in his office, said of the 16 states that were affected, Kano had the highest number of poultry farms.

    He said the farms stood at 58 from a total of 104 nationally, representing 56 per cent.

    According to him, Kano had the highest mortality rate, which was 21,447 of 72,885 – about 30 per cent of the 15 local governments affected.

    He added: “We have done a lot in de-populating the birds by working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture.”

    The minister alleged uncontrolled movement of birds from one farm to the other, saying it required the sensitisation and enforcement of quarantine, including security of clustered farms.

    Adeshina said: “If we don’t clamp down on Kano over the bird flu issue, states, such as Jigawa, Katsina, Bauchi and others risk being affected.

    “The only measure is to have inter-state border posts, where workers of the state and Federal Ministry of Agriculture can man and checkmate the movement of birds through a control measure that will not create panic.”

    He added that under the growth enhancement scheme, over one million farmers in Kano State in three years benefitted from the subsidy of seeds and fertiliser from the partnership between the Federal Government and the state.

  • Lagos unveils measures against bird flu

    Lagos unveils measures against bird flu

    Lagos State Government has urged the public to maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene to curb the spread of the avian influenza virus popularly called bird flu.

    It gave the advice following the flu’s outbreak in some poultries in Lagos.

    In a statement yesterday, Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris advised the public to avoid contact with chickens, ducks or other birds; their feathers, faeces and other waste in areas with the disease.

    Idris listed other measures that could help halt the spread of the disease to include; washing hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly, particularly after touching any poultry, eggs or bird meat and keeping children away from sick or dead poultry and birds.

    “Please, avoid slaughtering and cooking of sick or already dead poultry or birds, ensure that poultry products and eggs are thoroughly cooked before eating, ensure rearing of poultry far from dwellings and sleeping areas and make sure cooking surfaces are well clean before and after preparation of poultry products,” he said.

    The commissioner explained that the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus presently circulating among chicken and other birds in the state is “highly infectious,” adding that it has caused death of millions of chicken and other birds. The strain, he said, killed 166 humans in 11 countries during the 2007 outbreak.

    “Avian influenza is spread by direct and indirect contact with sick or dead chicken, eggs, and also through handling and slaughtering of live infected poultry. For now, there is no case of human infection in the state, only loss of chickens and other birds has been reported; human death has however been recorded with this present outbreak in some African countries,” Idris said.

    has urged the public to maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene to curb the spread of the avian influenza virus popularly called bird flu.

    It gave the advice following the flu’s outbreak in some poultries in Lagos.

    In a statement yesterday, Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris advised the public to avoid contact with chickens, ducks or other birds; their feathers, faeces and other waste in areas with the disease.

    Idris listed other measures that could help halt the spread of the disease to include; washing hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly, particularly after touching any poultry, eggs or bird meat and keeping children away from sick or dead poultry and birds.

    “Please, avoid slaughtering and cooking of sick or already dead poultry or birds, ensure that poultry products and eggs are thoroughly cooked before eating, ensure rearing of poultry far from dwellings and sleeping areas and make sure cooking surfaces are well clean before and after preparation of poultry products,” he said.

    The commissioner explained that the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus presently circulating among chicken and other birds in the state is “highly infectious,” adding that it has caused death of millions of chicken and other birds. The strain, he said, killed 166 humans in 11 countries during the 2007 outbreak.

    “Avian influenza is spread by direct and indirect contact with sick or dead chicken, eggs, and also through handling and slaughtering of live infected poultry. For now, there is no case of human infection in the state, only loss of chickens and other birds has been reported; human death has however been recorded with this present outbreak in some African countries,” Idris said.

  • Veterinarians on bird flu: don’t panic

    The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) has urged poultry farmers and the public not to panic over the resurgence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu).

    It said its members were ready to curtail bird flu’s spread with the method used during its outbreak in 2006.

    The new NVMA President, Dr. Edgar Amos Sunday, spoke at the weekend when delivering his acceptance speech at the inauguration of the new executive council of the association, at the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan.

    He said:” As veterinarians, perhaps the most obvious challenge facing us in the country today is the resurgence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu). As we all know, this portends grim implications for our country’s economy especially in the wake of the slump in oil prices in the international market.”