Fighting misconceptions is first hurdle in battle against bird flu

“It’s a government set-up,” “It’s a white man’s disease,” “Getting close to chickens kills.” Since Africa’s first cases of the deadly H5N1 virus were reported in northern Nigeria early this month, rumours, conspiracy theories and scepticism have been rife. And as the federal government steps up the battle to stem the spread of the virus, many Nigerians are still puzzling over what to make of this strange poultry disease that has created such panic in the west. With national information campaigns not yet off the ground, the leading question is: “Can one still eat chicken?” Yes, say experts interviewed on TV and quoted in national newspapers - bird flu cannot be transmitted even from eating an infected chicken. “Just boil and boil and boil until the flu demon is cooked to death,” one such expert advised. But here in the mostly Muslim north, where at least 40 poultry farms have been infected, health officials are battling more than just plain ignorance. They also face the deep distrust that many Nigerians have toward their appointed leaders. It is an attitude some say could contribute to the spread of the disease, which has now been confirmed in seven of the nation’s 36 states, including the capital territory. “A lot of people think this bird flu is a set-up because they’ve had so many disappointments from the government,” said Faisal Lawal, who owns a business centre in the northern city of Kaduna. “Most people believe that anything from the government has to be self-interested and therefore it’s difficult to get them to believe this bird flu is real. Maybe they’ll believe it after a lot of campaigning. But ask them now and they will tell you: rubbish.” With Nigeria for years listed as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, much suspicion greeted news of the first confirmed case of bird flu at a poultry farm owned by the country’s Sports Minister Samaila Sambawa. A taxi driver who gave his name only as Timothy said: “It was all stolen money. Now they’ll just steal more.” And when the government offered to pay out 250 naira (less than two dollars) in compensation for every culled bird, reactions ranged from surprise to anger. Business centre owner Lawal said he had finally come to believe in the existence of bird flu when officials announced the compensation package. “The government was actually going to pay money? I thought, in that case, it must be real,” he said, laughing. But poultry farmers say the sum must be increased to keep farmers - 60 percent of them backyard producers - from continuing to bring infected birds onto the market, where they believe they can obtain a better price. “This is economics,” said Haruna Awalu, chairman of the poultry farmers’ association of Kano. “It will come to a point where farmers will prefer to sell their chickens than declare they are sick, because they will get a bigger margin.”

Chickens foraging for food in northern Nigeria

Launching messages in local languages Juggling with two mobile phones, Awalu took a steady stream of calls all day from worried farmers. One woman wanted to know how to continue to feed her chickens now, given it was known she would die if she entered the pens. “Really, you won’t die,” Awalu reassured her. “Just wash your hands properly and make sure others stay away from your poultry.” A lack of campaigns in the local Hausa language remains a reason for concern, said David Heymann of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is assisting the Nigerian government in combating the virus. “Community perception of this problem has been recognised as a difficult issue,” Heymann said. “Plans are being put together to come up with a message that will be understandable and appropriate - the campaigns clearly have to be tailored to the needs of the community.” International health authorities fear the H5N1 strain could evolve into a virus affecting humans and have stepped up efforts to stave off a pandemic that could prove deadly. But few believe the Nigerian government is sufficiently equipped to stamp out the bird flu virus, let alone deal with a strain infecting humans. “Disaster management in Nigeria is almost zero,” said Emmanuel Ijewere, former director of the national Red Cross. “If there’s a major disaster in Nigeria, we won’t be able to cope.” Compounding the problem is the scepticism aired by some veterinary experts and health officials about the potential danger of the H5N1 virus. One veterinary assistant, for example, who had just destroyed hundreds of chickens on a farm outside Kano, told IRIN on condition of anonymity he didn’t believe it was bird flu at all. Taking off his gloves and facemask, he opined that the sickness affecting this farm was probably a new strain of Newcastle, a different more common poultry disease. And he added: “Okay, so everybody thinks it’s bird flu. Now, how many humans have died of that? Less than 200, right? Is that such a big deal?” This is a point of view shared by many in the north, including poultry farmers, poultry farmers’ chairman Awalu said. “We live with flu, we laugh about it,” he said. “Many see it as a white man’s disease. You are scared, but we are not. When we talk about health, you guys should be worried for us about malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis and the other diseases that are ravaging Africa.”