10 (15?)Nigerian States reporting widespread H5N1

[Dutchy]

Old cases?

Bird flu reported in 44 LGAs in 15 states

• Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006

Forty-four local government areas in 15 states of the federation have so far reported cases of Avian Influenza (AI), a workshop heard in Zaria. The Director, Federal Department of Livestock and Pest Control, Dr Jumada Maina, gave the figure at the opening of the three-day workshop organised by the EU for AI surveillance officers.

He said the workshop was aimed at strengthening and building capacity in controlling the spread of the bird flu. Maina, represented by Dr Joseph Nyager, said the virus, which was reported in the country in February, was under control.

He said some 500 suspected cases and 126 confirmed ones were recorded in the affected areas, including the FCT. Maina called on the workshop participants and veterinarians to ensure that the AI surveillance was carried out with all seriousness to stem the spread of the virus.

The Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. K.A. Esievo, had earlier said that active surveillance of the flu determined the extent of its spread and control measures.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.a...olumn=BUSINESS

[Sharpe]

Migratory birds bringing bird flu back to Nigeria at alarming rates.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-12-20-voa25.cfm

Fresh Bird Flu Concerns in Nigeria
By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
20 December 2006

Da Costa report - Download 669k audio clip
Listen to Da Costa report audio clip

Experts say a fresh outbreak of avian influenza in Nigeria is more widespread than thought. As Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja, this has provoked fears of long-term risks.

The Nigerian Veterinary Association says the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu remains a major problem in Nigeria and warns that the country risks triggering an even bigger round of infection.

Veterinary Association spokesman Bala Mohammed says more states have reported new cases of the disease, in the last few weeks.

"What we considered a resurgence is becoming alarming. From an initial three, then 10 states, almost all the states have been having a recurrence," he said. "That is a very serious challenge and it also calls for a review of the entire process that we adopted. In the last month, we've heard about Delta State, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River and a lot of cases in Lagos."

Nigeria and two other countries are considered the weakest link in the worldwide campaign to stem the disease.

John Lange heads the U.S government programs for foreign governments and international organizations to deal with avian influenza. He says Nigeria should step up its surveillance program.

"It is very important having the federal government working closely with state governments and local government areas to fully implement their plans on avian influenza. And, as part of that strategy is the need to undertake surveillance activities, to send veterinarians and others to all the states of Nigeria to really verify the level of avian influenza outbreaks," he said.

Millions of birds have died or become infected in Nigeria since the avian flu outbreak was first detected, last February, causing severe hardship for farmers, who have had very little support from the government.

Veterinary officials believe widespread disaffection with the compensation system put in place by the government is keeping farmers from reporting bird deaths, making tracking of the virus more difficult.

Garba Sharabutu is a veterinarian and president of the Nigerian Veterinary Association.

"We had cause to disagree with the government over this compensation. The first signal that the disease, avian influenza, is on a farm is when you estimate the total loss to be more than 50 percent," he noted. "Now, when move in there and you go and pay for those animals that you were able to actually destroy, when know that the cardinal signal is that 50 percent has already died, you go and pay compensation for only 50 percent, there is going to be a problem."

Lange, who met several poultry farmers on his recent trip to Nigeria, acknowledges that the compensation package for farmers is a huge drawback.

He says it is more of an international problem.

"The idea that the birds will be culled so that there will be no more outbreaks from that particular infection and then compensating the owners is an issue not just in Nigeria, but all over the world. In fact, at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, in June, we discussed the need for more expertise on culling and compensation," he added. "I discussed that here and, in fact, when we met yesterday with the Kaduna State Poultry Association, they were frustrated at the delays for receiving compensation for birds that have been culled."

Scientists warn that the H5N1 virus may mutate into one that is transmissible among humans, triggering a pandemic.

Backyard farmers are particularly at risk because of poor surveillance and greater human-to-animal contact.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Association estimates that backyard poultry farmers keep 60 percent of Nigeria's 140 million poultry.

Mohammed says, with major Christian and Muslim festivities planned for the next couple of weeks, the risk of bird flu is even more acute.

"I look at seasons like this where you have festive seasons; Christmas, Sallah and New Year, as an important season when we must step up public enlightenment," he added. "You will agree with me that these are the periods people go for these chickens and they do it all cost. Everybody must have chicken on his table. It is a very big issue in Nigeria."

Experts on bird flu are increasingly worried that Nigeria risks becoming a permanent host to the virus.
emailme.gif

[yielddude]

Apparently this is not old news, here's link to today's posting ...

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14336

[HenryN]

Fresh Outbreak of Bird Flu Alarms Nigerian Officials
By Gilbert da Costa Abuja 20 December 2006

Da Costa report - Download 669k
Listen to Da Costa report

Experts say a fresh outbreak of avian influenza in Nigeria is more widespread than thought. As Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja, this has provoked fears of long-term risks.

A Nigerian boy watches birds near the farm in northern Nigeria where Africa's first case of a deadly bird flu strain was discovered

The Nigerian Veterinary Association says the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu remains a major problem in Nigeria and warns that the country risks triggering an even bigger round of infection.

Veterinary Association spokesman Bala Mohammed says more states have reported new cases of the disease, in the last few weeks.
"What we considered a resurgence is becoming alarming. From an initial three, then 10 states, almost all the states have been having a recurrence," he said. "That is a very serious challenge and it also calls for a review of the entire process that we adopted. In the last month, we've heard about Delta State, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River and a lot of cases in Lagos."
Nigeria and two other countries are considered the weakest link in the worldwide campaign to stem the disease.

John Lange heads the U.S government programs for foreign governments and international organizations to deal with avian influenza. He says Nigeria should step up its surveillance program.

"It is very important having the federal government working closely with state governments and local government areas to fully implement their plans on avian influenza. And, as part of that strategy is the need to undertake surveillance activities, to send veterinarians and others to all the states of Nigeria to really verify the level of avian influenza outbreaks," he said.

Millions of birds have died or become infected in Nigeria since the avian flu outbreak was first detected, last February, causing severe hardship for farmers, who have had very little support from the government.

Veterinary officials believe widespread disaffection with the compensation system put in place by the government is keeping farmers from reporting bird deaths, making tracking of the virus more difficult.

Garba Sharabutu is a veterinarian and president of the Nigerian Veterinary Association.
"We had cause to disagree with the government over this compensation. The first signal that the disease, avian influenza, is on a farm is when you estimate the total loss to be more than 50 percent," he noted. "Now, when move in there and you go and pay for those animals that you were able to actually destroy, when know that the cardinal signal is that 50 percent has already died, you go and pay compensation for only 50 percent, there is going to be a problem."

Lange, who met several poultry farmers on his recent trip to Nigeria, acknowledges that the compensation package for farmers is a huge drawback.

He says it is more of an international problem.

"The idea that the birds will be culled so that there will be no more outbreaks from that particular infection and then compensating the owners is an issue not just in Nigeria, but all over the world. In fact, at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, in June, we discussed the need for more expertise on culling and compensation," he added. "I discussed that here and, in fact, when we met yesterday with the Kaduna State Poultry Association, they were frustrated at the delays for receiving compensation for birds that have been culled."

Scientists warn that the H5N1 virus may mutate into one that is transmissible among humans, triggering a pandemic.

Backyard farmers are particularly at risk because of poor surveillance and greater human-to-animal contact.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Association estimates that backyard poultry farmers keep 60 percent of Nigeria's 140 million poultry.

Mohammed says, with major Christian and Muslim festivities planned for the next couple of weeks, the risk of bird flu is even more acute.

"I look at seasons like this where you have festive seasons; Christmas, Sallah and New Year, as an important season when we must step up public enlightenment," he added. "You will agree with me that these are the periods people go for these chickens and they do it all cost. Everybody must have chicken on his table. It is a very big issue in Nigeria."

Experts on bird flu are increasingly worried that Nigeria risks becoming a permanent host to the virus.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-12-20-voa25.cfm

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...Nigeria_2.html

[Niko]

Merged 3 threads from today. Sorry if this creates confusion - better now than later

Additional background information on Nigeria can be found here:
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=90
.

[Mellie]

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...Nigeria_2.html

Commentary

H5N1 Re-emerges in Nigeria
Recombinomics Commentary
December 20, 2006


Veterinary Association spokesman Bala Mohammed says more states have reported new cases of the disease, in the last few weeks.
"What we considered a resurgence is becoming alarming. From an initial three, then 10 states, almost all the states have been having a recurrence,"

Experts on bird flu are increasingly worried that Nigeria risks becoming a permanent host to the virus.

The above comments describe the re-emergence of H5N1 in Nigeria and raise additional concerns on H5N1 surveillance. Data from last season indicates H5N1 should once again be re-emerging in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. However, only a handful of countries in the region (Ukraine, Egypt, Sudan, and now Nigeria) have reported the re-emergence of H5N1.

Last season H5N1 was reported in Turkey and Romania in October, 2005. Although neighboring countries denied H5N1 infections until early 2006, subsequent data indicate infections began in the fall and were widespread by December of 2005. The failure to report outbreaks in these countries again this season is cause for concern. Thus far only one sequence from Egypt has been made public this season. Although the isolate had many regional markers, it had a number of new polymorphisms indicating new H5N1 was migrating into the area. The increasing number of reports in Africa raises questions about reporting in the Middle East and Europe.

H5N1 has been recently confirmed in South Korea and Vietnam, signaling additional migration in those areas.

The rapid spread in Nigeria, couple with H5N1 in South Korea signal a new season with increased infections, yet the same countries that failed to report H5N1 in the fall of 2005 are also failing to report H5N1 from the same time period this season.

Failure to report and address the infections will lead to additional spread. H5N1 surveillance remains scandalously poor, even though H5N1 has been aggressively spreading since 2003.

[Dutchy]

Bird Flu Reaches Three More Nigerian States, Spreads Nationwide

By Jason Gale

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu killed poultry on farms in three more Nigerian states, as the virus spread to all regions of the Africa's most populous nation.

Last Updated: December 21, 2006 06:42 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...fer=healthcare

Edit: Update

Bird Flu Spreads in Nigeria to Farms in Three States (Update1)

By Jason Gale

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu reached every region of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, after government inspectors found infections in three states.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza was detected by the National Veterinary Research Institute in samples collected from the southern state of Delta, the western state of Kwara which borders Benin, and the northeastern state of Borno, which borders Chad, Cameroon and Niger, the United Nations said yesterday in an e-mailed report.

[Jeremy]

Hey, I thought Bird Flu was on the decline.

I could have sworn I read an article about that just the other day.

[Dutchy]

Interesting presentation recent situation BF in Nigeria:

http://www.avianinfluenzaconference4...esentation.pdf

[Dutchy]

More Nigerian states hit by bird flu infection

LAGOS (Reuters) - The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread in the last few weeks to two new states in Nigeria and reappeared in two others where it was believed to have been contained, officials said on Friday.


Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem infections among birds and head off a potentially devastating human flu pandemic.

The disease was first discovered in the northwest state of Kaduna in February and it spread rapidly in the early weeks to 12 other states and the Federal Capital Territory, despite culling and quarantine measures.

In the last two months, the virus was detected in the northeast state of Borno and the central state of Kwara for the first time. It also resurfaced in the northwest state of Kano, with the latest outbreak on Tuesday, and reappeared in the southwest state of Ogun, near Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos.

"We have never really been free of bird flu. The disease keeps recurring. There were two new cases in Borno and Kwara states in November and we immediately cleaned them up," Junaidu Maina, head of Nigeria's livestock department told Reuters.

"There were also fresh cases in Kano and Ogun, but these are states that had already been positive," Maina said by telephone from the capital, Abuja.

Officials say disaffection with the government's compensation system discourages farmers from reporting bird deaths, making it more difficult to detect the spread of the virus.

MOVEMENT OF LIVESTOCK

Maina said the new infections may have been triggered by the movement of livestock across the West African country, adding that things could get worse when migratory birds begin to arrive from other infected areas.

The new cases of avian influenza on three farms in Kano were reported on December 4, 7 and 19 and have since been dealt with, said Salihu Jibrin, the state director of veterinary services.

The H5N1 virus can infect people who come into close contact with sick birds. It has infected about 206 people since 2003 and killed at least 114, according to the World Health Organization.

Nigeria was the first African country to be hit by the highly pathogenic virus, but it has not reported any human cases of the disease although experts warn that surveillance may not be completely effective and cases may have gone undetected.

An estimated 60 percent of Nigeria's poultry is kept by backyard farmers, making human-to-bird contact more common and surveillance more difficult.

Thousands of poultry have died or become infected in Nigeria since the H5N1 virus was first detected, hitting farmers badly.

Many Nigerians live on less than a dollar a day and are too poor to afford the luxury of rejecting infected or dead chickens, raising concern among experts on bird flu that Nigeria is at risk of becoming a permanent host to the virus.

The risk is elevated with Christmas and the Muslim Eid festivals only days away because consumption rises.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061222/...ria_birdflu_dc

[Dutchy]

Bird flu: FG to compensate Rivers poultry owners, January

• Saturday, Dec 30, 2006

The Federal Government has concluded plans to pay compensation to 91 owners of poultry farms in Rivers State with effect from January 2007.

The Project Desk Officer, Avian Influenza control (Animal), Dr Allswell Emejuru, who disclosed this to The Weekend Tide in his office said that, the FG is set to pay up all owners of poultry farms who had their birds destroyed to prevent the spread of the dreaded Avian Influenza within the next two weeks.

In his words, proper structure has been put in place to ensure that any poultry farmer whose birds are destroyed as a result of bird flu would receive his payment as soon as possible.

He warned owners of poultry farms not to sleep in the same room with their bird,s noting that, birds carry along with it devastating health harzards and outbreak of disease which has killed some people in other countries .

Dr Emejuru further disclosed that the total number of birds destroyed during the outbreak was 6,275, comprising of 6085 chicken, 137 ducks, 50 ducklings and 3 crown birds.

He, however advised consumers of chicken not to have any fear for eating chicken but should report case of suspected birds to the state Ministry of Health or Agriculture ministry.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.a...=NIGER%20DELTA