Marco Lambertini The H5N1 virus has been found in a commercial chicken farm in Nigeria Zoom In

Avian flu outbreak in Nigeria

08-02-2006

An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza "bird flu" has been reported by the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) on a large commercial chicken farm in the northern state of Kaduna, Nigeria. Unofficial reports suggest the virus is genetically related to the strain that spread from Qinghai, China, west to Turkey in 2005.

This is the first reported outbreak of H5N1 in Africa, and a serious development in the continuing spread of avian flu. Initial, unconfirmed reports indicate that the virus may have infected chickens at other commercial farms in the area. It may have been present since 10th January, when chickens first began dying, but was earlier diagnosed as Newcastle disease. (It is possible that the outbreak involves both diseases). Outbreaks of H5N1 at commercial chicken farms have previously been reported in Asian countries, notably in Laos, where 42 of 45 outbreaks were confirmed on commercial enterprises.

"The most important thing is to contain this deadly virus, which could have a devastating effect on the welfare of the people and economy of Nigeria." —Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science and Policy

Imports of infected poultry is a suspected source of the Nigerian outbreak. In 2004, the government banned imports of live poultry, although in early 2005 it came under pressure from the country’s farmers to resume them again because the country lacked the technology to produce sufficient quantities of day-old-chicks. A 2003 United States Department of Agriculture report stated that prior to an earlier 2002 import ban on poultry meat, "virtually all imported frozen poultry entered Nigeria illegally."

In 2005, BirdLife warned of the risk of H5N1 spreading through illegal importation of poultry and poultry products after live chickens from China were confiscated by Italian customs and tonnes of frozen Chinese poultry meat seized in the UK.