Published: February 23, 2006
Nigerian Bird Flu Might Cause Regional Disaster, U.N. Agency Says
Food and Agriculture Organization calls disease a serious threat in West Africa
The deadly bird flu virus continues to spread in poultry in Nigeria and could cause a regional disaster despite strong control efforts taken by Nigerian authorities, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a February 22 press release.
The FAO also called for a poultry vaccination campaign involving thousands of veterinarians and international donor support.
"There is ample evidence that the Nigerian bird flu situation is difficult and worrisome," FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said in a statement from the agency's Rome headquarters.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus was discovered in February in Nigeria, the first African occurrence in the current outbreak.
Since December 2003, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, H5 or H5N1 infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in 30 countries.
Since January 2004, the World Health Organization has reported human cases of avian flu in seven countries - Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey and Iraq. (See related article.)
Since the first reports of H5N1 in Asia at the end of 2003, some 170 human cases have been reported, 92 of them fatal, mostly in Southeast Asia and China. Human cases so far have been traced to infection directly from diseased birds.
Nearly 200 million domestic birds have died or been culled to contain the spread.
"Considering the possible widespread entrenchment of the disease in poultry," Domenech said, "FAO is advising the government to prepare for a targeted vaccination campaign. Culling and the application of biosecurity measures alone may not stop the spread of the virus."
Nigeria has an estimated poultry population of 140 million. Backyard farmers account for 60 percent of all poultry producers; commercial farmers, 25 percent; and semicommercial farmers, 15 percent.
In Nigeria, vaccination campaigns will require the mobilization of several thousand private and public veterinarians and will need a strong commitment from national and regional authorities and the support of the international donor community for vaccines, cars, vaccination teams and training.
Domenech stressed the importance of compensating farmers for the loss of animals to encourage early reporting of outbreaks and effective application of control measures.
U.N. health officials have warned that the virus could evolve into a lethal human pandemic if it mutates into a form that can transmit easily among people.
The FAO statement is available on the organization's Web site.
For more information on the disease and efforts to combat it, see Bird Flu.
See Also: Biosecurity Urged as Bird Flu Spreads
Source: U.S. Department of State
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