February 28, 2006

Nigerian poultry farmers import vaccine to fight bird flu virus

Nigerian poultry farmers will receive their first batch of imported bird flu vaccines this week, providing them with the means to control the lethal virus that has spread to nine of the country's 36 states.

One million doses of vaccine from Israel will arrive on Mar 1, said Auwalu Haruna, secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria.

However, scientists remained worried that inadequate veterinary services in Africa will make the virus difficult to control. Nigeria, with almost 140 million people, has the largest population in Africa.

In Kano, the worst-affected of Nigeria's states, the virus has killed about 102,000 fowls on 18 farms, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Feb 24. More than 48,000 fowl on 33 other farms in the state have been culled to prevent the spread of the virus.

The H5N1 strain was first confirmed in Africa in Nigerian poultry on Feb 7.

Many poultry farmers feel vaccination is costly but necessary as opposed to losing their whole flock to the virus.

In the metropolitan area of Kano, many keep fowl in their backyards for food and additional income. The entire city's flock of 500,000 fowl may be culled to eradicate the virus.