Bird Flu Spreads To Several Commercial Farms In Nigeria

Authorities in Nigeria say that several commercial farms in states neighbouring Kaduna state now have H5N1 infected poultry.


Infected farms have been found in the following areas of Nigeria:


-- Kano

-- Plateau

-- Katsina

-- Bauchi

-- Abuja


Some humans with respiratory symptoms are also being tested for bird flu infection. Samples have been sent to a laboratory in Surrey, England.


The first bird flu outbreak (among poultry) is known to have started in Kaduna state on January 10th. Experts believe the virus had already been around for a while and that many other birds, and perhaps some humans, had been infected.


Patient records are being checked in the states of Kaduna, Kano and Katsina for signs of bird flu like symptoms - to check whether infection had taken place earlier. So far, nothing has been found.


Backyard poultry is very common in Nigeria, making it very hard for authorities to really gauge the scale of this outbreak. There are probably about 140 million heads of poultry in Nigeria, most of them are in the south-western part of the country. 60% of the country's poultry can be found in small backyard flocks.


The World Health Organization has expressed concern about the possible spread of bird flu to Nigeria's neighbours, where borders are porous and restrictions are difficult to enforce. Rumours are flying that the H5N1 virus strain has spread rapidly into neighbouring countries - there is no official confirmation of this, neither by national governments nor international organisations.



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