Bird flu hits Ghana; More than 11,000 birds killed | General news

An outbreak of bird flu has been reported in Ghana, resulting in the death of 11,816 birds. Affected farms have also been quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus to other areas.

Of this number, 5,431 birds were killed by influenza in Boankra, near Ejisu in the Ashanti region, while 5,935 were killed. In Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region

However, only 450 birds from a Tema farm in the Greater Accra region were killed by the flu.

Confirmation

Confirming the outbreak at the Daily Graphic in Accra on Monday, Dr. Boi Kikimoto, Chief of Public Health and Food Safety Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 39, Agriculture, said the ministry was aware of the outbreak and had already sent samples of the virus to the global reference laboratory. He explained that it was a normal procedure because it was the only place with the laboratory certified to test the virus and "on the other hand, they will help provide the palindrome".

Security Assurance

Dr. Kikimoto gave badurances that the Department of Veterinary Services of MoFA had taken all necessary measures to contain the situation, adding: "There is no evidence No need to worry

He also badured the public that chicken on the market or in supermarkets was safe for consumption.

Dr. Kikimoto advised all district veterinarians to in place more control measures and to avoid any movement of birds.

Procedure

Explaining the reporting procedure, Dr. Kikimoto stated that when a country confirmed such an incident, "we must address the World Organization for Animal Health for confirmation, even if we have everything to do." [.]

He explained that the procedure of sending samples to Pandova for "Other tests was simply procedural because the report on the outbreak would not change, but the type of flu could be

. "There are different types of bird flu: H5N1, H2N3 and others," he said, adding that the type of influenza that affected Boankra and Nkawkaw was the H5N1, described as highly pathogenic, which was

Dr. Kikimoto, however , said that Tema's was the least pathogenic, which killed slowly; and the ministry was still testing in the country before the results were sent to Pandova.

He explained that the ministry was yet to report the epidemic at Tema's farm at the World Organization for Animal Health because it was testing at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for the Medical Research at Legon in Accra

Measurements

Dr. Kikimoto noted that as an immediate step, "we did eradicate and quarantine the farm to prevent spread on both farms in Boankra and Nkawkaw.

He said the farms were quarantined to ensure that their birds had not been smuggled out until veterinarians had completed their work and disinfected these farms.

19659002] Dr. Kikimoto added that by stamping out to ensure that nothing of these birds could pose a danger to other birds.

Previous Epidemics

In 2016, more than 25,000 birds were destroyed between January and July, as a result of avian influenza (bird flu) on poultry farms.

A total of 13 farms in the country were affected, seven of which were recorded in the Greater Accra region.

In 2015, a total of 76,326 birds were destroyed as a result of the outbreak of the nationwide outbreak