Bird flu hit Lagos-over 2000 birds lost

Reports show that Bird flu has hit Lagos state with over 2000 birds lost in the outbreak.The state government said it had commenced intensive surveillance, which would focus on all poultry farms in the state in order to prevent spread of the deadly disease.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, disclosed the bird flu outbreak at a news conference he addressed alongside his health counterpart, Dr. Jide Idris in Alausa, Lagos.
“During the last Christmas and New Year period, the Veterinary Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives received a report of high mortalities of birds in poultry markets across the state”, he said.


Lawal said in order to contain the spread of the infection, the government had embarked on active Diseases Search by surveillance agents, Biosecurity Monitoring and Sensitisation in poultry farms and markets, disinfection of Poultry Markets and decontamination of affected farms and sensitisation of poultry farmers and traders on insurance policy issues.

“Sensitisation of poultry farmers and fowl sellers is being vigorously embarked on by the Surveillance and Extension Agents deployed by the ministry to cover the entire state. Disinfection of all live bird markets in the state is already on going.
“All poultry farmers and fowl sellers are hereby enjoined to adhere strictly to biosecurity measures and report unusual incidence of high mortalities of birds. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Health have deployed surveillance agents to the various parts of the state,” he said.