Nigeria warns of bird flu outbreak in 7 states

Lagos, June 2 (IANS/MAP) The Nigerian government on Friday alerted the public regarding the outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu in the federal capital territory and seven states of the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development raised the alert at a meeting with State Commissioners of Agriculture in Abuja on Friday.

Gideon Mshelbwala, the Director of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, said the states affected by the outbreak include Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT and lastly Kaduna, which reported a case on May 30.

Mshelbwala, who said that there were no scientifically proven vaccines for bird flu, noted that the government was adopting quarantine, movement control, stamping out, decontamination and bio-security measures to curb the spread.

The director expressed regret over the poor bio-security practices by some poultry farmers, adding that it was the major reason for the continuous spread of the disease.

"Our national action plan encourages proper regulation of the poultry industry and enforcement of annual registration of all actors along the poultry value chain including farmers, traders, egg merchants and feed millers.

"It also encourages the creation of veterinary extension services to facilitate the control and proper inspection of poultry and poultry products," he said.

Mshelbwala said that the way forward to the containment of the disease was to ban importation of poultry and products, quarantine and bio-security measures, among others.

He, however, warned poultry farmers against illegal vaccination of birds, saying that it was a deadly alternative to the control of the disease.

--IANS

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