Bird Flu Spreads to Rivers State

Just last week, BN brought you the news that Bird Flu had emerged in Kano and Lagos states respectively (click here if you missed it).

And now, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is reporting that it has spread to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The Rivers Government said on Tuesday that it had killed hundreds of fowls infected by the Avian Flu in a privately owned farm in Port Harcourt.

Emma Chinda, the Commissioner for Agriculture, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the farm had been quarantined and decontaminated.

He also said no human infection had been recorded.

“On Jan. 14, we got a report from a farm that was worrisome. The report we got suggested that the farm may have been infected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

According to the commissioner, samples of the flu were taken to the Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Plateau State.

“The result came out on Jan. 17 and it read positive of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza.

“On the basis of that, we had to take necessary steps. Apart from quarantining the farm, we had to depopulate the birds in the farm to stop further spread.

“Thereafter, we decontaminated the farm. We are containing the situation because officials of government and experts are on ground monitoring the situation,’’ he added.

Chinda said there was no need to panic because the government was well equipped to handle the situation.

He said before the outbreak, they received information from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture on Avian Influenza in Kano and a bird market in Lagos.

“We were very much on alert and when it happened here, we handled the situation,’’ he said.

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