Bird Flu spreads to Edo, Plateau, Rivers & others

The Federal government says the highly transmittable avian influenza viral disease also known as Bird flu has spread to five more states asides Lagos and Kaduna where the first cases were recorded in Nigeria. The states with the latest cases of the disease in poultry animals include Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Plateau states.

The Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adeshina who spoke at a press conference in Abuja yesterday said 15 commercial farms and 9 live bird Markets have been affected by the disease in the five states.

He however said  the disease has not reached an epidemic state in Nigeria as the relevant authorities were working hard to contain its spread in the country.

"We are not in a state of any epidemic. Seven states have so far reported cases of the bird flu – Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Plateau States. The most affected state has been Kano, where the initial case of the bird flu was found. In all of these states, different levels of interventions, including depopulation, decontamination and quarantine are currently ongoing.” he said 103,445 birds have reportedly been exposed to the infection in Kano State, with 15,963 (15 per cent) mortality reported, while 31,195 and 3,347 (11%) mortality has been reported in Lagos State.