Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, tried to calm nerves on Thursday over the outbreak of bird flu that has claimed over 200,000 chickens and poses a threat to humans.
He set up a team to curb the spread of the possible epidemic and put all hospitals in the state on red alert to treat suspected cases of the lethal H5N1 virus, while Sambawa Farms has been quarantined. Hospitals in Lagos have also been put on red alert.
Makarfi disclosed after a meeting with stakeholders and donor agencies that the affected chickens were bought from five different places in Kano.
He said he has ordered health officials to conduct tests in all major poultry farms to ascertain the level of the spread of the disease.
However, he added, “it is not as alarming as people believe. We will take necessary measures based on what we see. Before the Federal Government’s compensation, we will assist the immediate environment. Hospitals have been placed on red alert, even though nobody is affected yet.�
Members of the team are drawn from the veterinary services, forestry, Ministry of Information, the police, State Security Service (SSS), Christian Association of Nigeria, Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI), traditional institutions, UNICEF and WHO.
However, chicken sellers in Kano are doing a roaring trade despite the fears.
Officials said they are putting strict quarantine measures in place to protect consumers, but reporters found out that birds, which died in another, similar disease outbreak are being auctioned off cheaply in the city.
Chickens that used to sell at N1,000 now go for N300. Lagos State placed itself on red alert to contain any possible outbreak of the virus in its domain.
Its Ministry of Health has summoned senior personnel of all state-owned medical institutions for an emergency meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Jide Idris, on ways to alert the public and health workers.
�The ministries of Health, Agriculture and Information are working in collaboration to ensure that the people are properly educated on how to identify some of the signs of this infection, as well as enlighten the officials of the ministries on the specific messages they would use to educate the general populace on the avian flu�, Idris said.
The state House of Assembly on Thursday implored Abuja to urgently set up measures to combat the spread of the flu.
Oloruntele Folami (Ibeju Lekki 2) who raised the motion said the issue should not be trivialised the way that of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is handled, as bird flu kills almost instantly.Most contributors to the motion agreed with him.
Among them were Bola Olujobi-Badmus (Amuwo-Odofin 2) and Tunde Oyewo (Amuwo-Odofin 1).
Experts have asserted that the virus found in Kaduna and Kano states could be the deadly strain found in Asia last year.
Olusegun Ojo, professor of chemical pathology and morbid anatomy at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife confirmed in a phone interview that Nigeria has a near 100 per cent chance of being home to the virus that affects birds, including chickens.
His words: �It has been established that Nigeria falls within the route of migration of birds from southwards and with the acute winter in the initially affected areas like Asia and the current warm favourable weather for birds in West Africa, some of the birds may have made their way to the country through the north. Which is the reason we have the wide swoop on birds in that region.�
However, Kenya on Thursday banned imports of poultry products from Nigeria because of the outbreak of the bird flu virus.
Kenyan health authorities confirmed that no cases of avian flu has been detected in the country, which lies on a migration path for birds that may be carrying the virus whose origins are not yet known.
Kenya currently does not import any poultry and their products from Nigeria.
Although no cases of avian flu has been reported in Kenya, the country faces the risk from migrating birds coming from areas with the disease outbreaks.