Nigerian farmers fear bird flu is spreading

By Estelle Shirbon

JAJI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Small poultry farmers in Nigeria close to where the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus was detected said on Thursday birds were dying in large numbers and they did not know why.

The west African state is the first country on the continent to report the virus that is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia and has killed at least 88 people since late 2003.

The unexplained poultry deaths raise the possibility that the virus has already spread from four big commercial farms to small farms and even households in Africa’s most populous country, posing a greater threat to human health.

Mohammed Sanusi, a farmer with about 1,400 chickens kept outdoors about five km (3 miles) from Sambawa Farms in northern Nigeria where the H5N1 virus was detected, said between five and 10 chickens were dying every day.

"We are afraid that what happened at Sambawa Farms will happen here too. That’s why we went to the vet to get medicine," said farmer Mohammed Sanusi, who is treating his birds with medicine for intestinal infections, not bird flu.

The Agriculture Ministry said 45,000 chickens had died at Sambawa Farms in Kaduna state, and confirmed cases of H5N1 had also been found at two farms in the neighbouring Kano state and at one farm in Plateau state, which also borders Kaduna.

The outbreak could have devastating consequences in Nigeria, where millions keep chickens in their backyards.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said people will need to be warned about the risks of slaughtering and preparing diseased poultry for consumption if the virus hits household flocks.

Because of a lack of refrigeration, most Africans buy chickens live and kill them at home.

So far, human victims in seven countries have contracted the disease through close contact with infected birds.

Scientists fear that H5N1 could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, sparking a human influenza pandemic in which millions could die.

Nigerian authorities say they have received no reports of human infection with H5N1. But mortality rates in Nigeria are among the highest in the world and the dead are often buried without any medical checks.

INFECTED FARM

At the battery farm where the first H5N1 sample was taken, outside Jaji village in Kaduna state, 15 big concrete hangars used as chicken pens were empty on Thursday and workers said all the birds had died about a month ago.

"They burned them and buried them. They didn’t tell us what had happened. I heard it on the news," said a farm worker, asking not to be named.

About 10 state emergency officials visited the abandoned farm briefly on Thursday checking for human victims, but left empty handed.

About 20 riot police sat in the shade of trees guarding the farm, but did not prevent journalists and villagers from walking among the buildings. Foul-smelling pits were visible at the back, and about 40 ostriches wandered around in a field.

CULLING CONCERNS

An Agriculture Ministry official in Kano state said authorities had ordered all farms witnessing mass bird deaths to be quarantined, but they would not exterminate the flocks until H5N1 was confirmed by new tests.

"Once we confirm the test is positive, we will go there and destroy the chickens. Because of the compensation, we are worried people might take advantage," he said.

Juan Lubroth, a senior official with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, said it was vital to act quickly.

"Culling early in an outbreak is very important. It should be done if it’s early and not too widespread," he said,

The World Animal Health Organization said it believed a poultry vaccination programme would probably be needed.

The United States has promised to give $25 million in assistance, the agriculture ministry said.