The Government of Rivers State has confirmed an outbreak of the
avian influenza, aka bird flu, in the state.
The discovery of the
disease was announced on Tuesday, January 20, by the State Commissioner for
Agriculture, Emma
Chinda.
The commissioner stated
that blood samples from infected birds had been taken to the Veterinary
Research Institute in Plateau State after preliminary testing confirmed the
presence of bird flu.
“On
January 14, (2015), 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,” Chinda said.
“Unfortunately,
the result came out on January 17 (2015) 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 (eliminate) the
birds in the farm to stop further spread. Thereafter, we decontaminated the
farm,” he added.
Chinda also added that
the infection was discovered on a farm in Port Harcourt and that the facility
had been quarantined and decontaminated while the affected birds were killed.
The Federal Ministry of
Agriculture has also confirmed cases of the disease in Lagos and Kano.
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