Bird flu panic: Markets, poultry farms to be disinfected by Kano state government
- There is a bird flu scare within the northern region of Nigeria
- Kano state government is set to disinfect poultry farms and markets
- The government has said all farmers whose farms are affected by the disease
A disinfection exercise is to be carried out on all poultry farms and markets, by the Kano state government, as part of measures to curb the spread of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Kano state.
The Director, Veterinary services of the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Shehu Bawa, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano.
Bawa said already, the state government had approved certain amount of money to the department for the procurement of more disinfectants.
He said as soon as the disinfectants arrived, the department would use it to disinfect all poultry and market premises to check the spread of the disease.
“We are lucky since the disease resurfaced about one month ago, only two farms in Kumbotso Local Government Area were infected with the disease,” he said.
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The director said the department had also stepped up surveillance in all markets with a view to preventing people from selling infected birds to unsuspecting members of the public.
On compensation, Bawa said that the Federal Government had promised to pay all those farmers affected by the disease in 2014/2015 and 2015 /2016.
He said the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, made the promise during a meeting he held with 36 commissioners of Agriculture and Directors of Veterinary services in Abuja this week.
He disclosed that modalities were also being worked out for payment of affected farmers in the future.
No fewer than 9,000 birds have so far been killed since the disease resurfaced in the state on Dec. 15.
The minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh, has disclosed that a new strain of Avian Influenza virus, also known as bird flu, has entered the country and has spread to 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).
According to a report by Punch, Ogbeh revealed that over 3.5 million birds have been affected. He noted that neighbouring countries have proposed a ban on poultry and poultry products from Nigeria in order to prevent the disease from entering the country.
He disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday, January 10, at a consultative meeting with commissioners for agriculture/livestock, states directors of veterinary services and major stakeholders in the poultry industry.
According to him, the first outbreak of bird flu in the country was reported in 2006 and spanned through 2008, but was controlled and eradicated through concerted efforts facilitated by the availability of resources from a World Bank-sponsored project and support from the country’s development partners.
Source: Legit.ng
