Lagos Destroys 2,000 Birds as Bird Flu Hits Poultry Farms

Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperative, Prince Gbolahan Lawal who made the disclosure at press conference said the name of the poultry farm would not be disclosed for security reasons, adding that because of the outbreak of the flu, 2,000 birds had been depopulated from the farm while the entire farm had been quarantined.

According to him, during the last Christmas and New Year Festival period, the Veterinary Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives received a report of high mortalities of birds in poultry markets across the state.

He said bird samples sent to the National Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State, had unfortunately tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the Avian Influenza popularly known as bird flu.

“Samples collected from a poultry farm in Badore have also been confirmed positive and a Zoological park based in Victoria Garden City presently experiencing high mortality of wild birds in captivity is on the suspicion list and it is being investigated,” he stated.

Lawal said in order to contain the spread of the infection, the government had embarked on active Diseases Search by surveillance agents, Biosecurity Monitoring and Sensitization in poultry farms and markets, disinfection of Poultry Markets and decontamination of affected farms and sensitization of poultry farmers and traders on insurance policy issues.

“To complement the above activities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is collaborating with the State Ministry of Health, the Lagos State branch of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, National Agriculture Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and Lagos State Fowl Sellers Association.

“A team of eight technical staff, comprising of representatives of the Federal Livestock Department, National Quarantine Service and the National Veterinary Research Institute is currently in the state on disease assessment and surveillance,” he said.

The commissioner disclosed that the emergency active disease search carried out in the last 48 hours had so far indicated no spread of the disease, adding that in order to contain the spread, the active disease search is on going in farms and poultry markets.

“Sensitization of poultry farmers and fowl sellers is being vigorously embarked on by the Surveillance and Extension Agents deployed by the ministry to cover the entire state. Disinfection of all live bird markets in the state is already on going.

“All poultry farmers and fowl sellers are hereby enjoined to adhere strictly to biosecurity measures and report unusual incidence of high mortalities of birds. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Health have deployed surveillance agents to the various parts of the state,” he said.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said there was no cause for alarm and advised Lagosians to embrace basic hygiene to prevent contracting the disease, saying that people should ensure that they cook their birds properly before eating and report cases of mortality in birds in any area to the government.

Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds. Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as H5N1 and H7N9, have caused serious infections in people.

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, outbreaks of AI in poultry may raise global public health concerns due to their effect on poultry populations, their potential to cause serious disease in people, and their pandemic potential. Reports of highly pathogenic AI epidemics in poultry, such as H5N1, can seriously impact local and global economies and international trade.

The body said majority of human cases of H5N1 and H7N9 infection have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry as there is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food.

The WHO said controlling the disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans. AI viruses can sometimes spread to domestic poultry and cause large-scale outbreaks of serious disease. Some of these AI viruses have also been reported to cross the species barrier and cause disease or sub-clinical infections in humans and other mammals.