New Nigerian bird flu cases, panic selling blamed

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New Nigerian bird flu cases, panic selling blamed By Flynn

1 hour, 11 minutes ago

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Panic selling of birds infected with bird

flu has helped spread the H5N1 virus in Nigeria, but compensation

could persuade farmers to abide by quarantine rules, a top veterinary

expert said on Wednesday.

The deadly H5N1 strain was confirmed last week in four farms in three

northern Nigerian states, but there have been suspected outbreaks in

at least five other states in Africa's most populous country.

" Initially it was the panic selling that made it spread. Animals were

being moved from farms so that the farmers wouldn't lose everything, "

said Lami Lombin, director of the veterinary lab that is testing

samples from suspect poultry.

" Now that it's been confirmed that there will be compensation, it's

better for them to keep chickens on their farms and count them. They

are now beginning to comply. "

The government announced last week it would give 250 naira ($2) for

each culled chicken, although it has given no details of how it

intends to put the plan into practise.

Lombin's team has confirmed bird flu was present in two more farms,

but the lab is not able to identify strains of bird flu, and she said

samples had been sent to a reference lab in Italy to test for H5N1.

The deadly strain of bird flu can pass from birds to humans but

cannot yet spread between humans. It has killed at least 91 people in

Asia and the Middle East since early 2003.

The virus poses a major health risk in Nigeria because chickens run

free in millions of backyards and are carried live in public

transport.

SLOW RESPONSE

Federal authorities have ordered suspect farms to be quarantined,

sick birds to be culled and transport or sale of birds from affected

states to stop, but implementation has been slow in some places and

has not happened at all in others.

Persuading people in the countryside to cull sick chickens and avoid

contact with dead ones is difficult because people are too poor to

afford throwing away meat.

The Nigerian outbreak of H5N1 is the first known appearance in Africa

of the strain.

No human case has been found so far. Detecting such a case will be

difficult because mortality rates are high from other diseases and

health services are almost non-existent in rural areas, where people

are often buried without a medical check.

In Kano state, where the deadly H5N1 strain was confirmed on two

farms and more than 30 others are reporting mass poultry deaths,

authorities discouraged a team of U.N. experts from visiting farms,

citing security fears.

Reuters has visited farms in the state where workers who were unaware

of bird flu used their bare hands to throw sick and dead chickens

onto fires as children watched. Chickens have also been dying in

villages, where they mingle freely with people.

A 15-strong federal government team, equipped with protective kits

and chemicals to fumigate infected areas, arrived in Kano on

Wednesday, a week after H5N1 was confirmed.

Wearing white overalls, masks, gloves and boots, they immediately

went to an affected farm to help cull chickens.

Scientists fear H5N1 could mutate into a form that can pass easily

between humans, which could trigger a global flu pandemic and kill

millions of people.

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