Nigeria: Bauchi Kills 27,000 Birds to Curb Spread of Avian Influenza
Bauchi — Avian Influenza (bird flu) outbreak has killed no fewer than 50,000 birds in Bauchi State, as 27,000 of them were deliberately slaughtered by poultry farmers to prevent the spread of the disease in the state.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Sama’ila Adamu Burga, who made this known to journalists yesterday, said Bauchi and Toro Local Government Areas were badly hit by the bird flu.
He, however, called on poultry farmers to adhere strictly to the guidelines on marketing, movement of poultry products, general hygiene, consumption of wholesome poultry and poultry products.
Burga said seven states, including Bauchi, are suffering from the disease from January this year to date.
“It is gladdening to state that so far, many of our poultry industry stakeholders-poultry owners/workers, field officers and live bird marketers-were screened through a joint exercise by my ministry, Ministry of Health and NCDC, where samples were collected, sent to laboratory and all the results turned out to be negative,” he said.
He revealed that the state Ministry of Agriculture has over 130 qualified veterinary doctors spread across the 20 LGAs of the state, who are always ready to attend to complaints from poultry farmers, marketers and indeed the public.
Burga described Avian influenza as a highly infectious zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, saying the disease is known to have caused economic losses directly through loss of birds and their products as well as losses in the value chain with attendant consequences of loss of jobs.
By This Day.
