Poultry workers too afraid to take tests

Frightened poultry workers on Monday shunned medical examinations for bird flu in northern Nigeria, where the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus which can affect humans was reported last week. Only about 20 of the estimated 160 employees of Sambawa Farms in Jaji, Kaduna State, turned up for a medical screening conducted at a nearby clinic by a joint team of federal and state health officials. Workers told IRIN that many of their colleagues stayed away because they were frightened of being detained by authorities if tested positive. But with no bird flu testing kits yet available in Kaduna, health officials were only able to check for flu symptoms and respiratory infections. “We don’t have the requisite kits to take the blood samples,” explained Julius Gajere, one of the doctors that conducted the checks. “We are going to identify those with any of the indicative symptoms and these would undergo blood screening when kits from the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrive by tomorrow (Tuesday),” he added. Veterinary officials at the weekend culled 160 ostriches at Sambawa Farms, the only birds that were still surviving at the farm after some 45,000 chickens kept there succumbed to bird flu over the past month. Police snipers hit a snag on Friday when they ran out of bullets, but by Saturday the dead ostriches were burned and buried in pits and the farm disinfected.

Dr Julius Gajere screens a farm worker for signs of bird flu

Abdulhamid Bala Abubakar, head of a public health task force set up by Kaduna State to tackle the avian flu outbreak, said all birds within a three-kilometre radius of the farm would be culled and people who have been in contact with infected birds will be medically examined. However, residents of Birnin Yaro, the community located closest to Sambawa Farms, said health officials had not visited them, either to cull their dying poultry or check on their health. “Our chickens have been dying in large numbers for the past one month, and right now only very few are left,” said resident Musa Abdullahi. “Last week we heard the problem was from Sambawa (Farms) but so far no officials have come to see how things are in our village.” Chickens wander freely about the thatched-roof mud-hut homes of Birnin Yaro village, where they mix with goats, sheep and children and are only rounded up into pens at night. Health officials are currently running tests on one family from the area whose children were displaying flu symptoms. Residents of Birnin Yaro told IRIN that no one had fallen ill in their village.

Two members of a veterinary team that culled birds at Sambawa Farms dressed in special protective clothing

Meanwhile, poultry markets have remained open in Kano, Kaduna and Plateau - the three states of northern Nigeria where the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus have been confirmed - despite recommendations by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that they be shut immediately as a control measure. In poultry markets in Kaduna city traders brought birds for sale on Monday from farms in surrounding rural areas but complained that demand had gone slack over bird flu. “In normal times I usually sell at least 10 chickens everyday but today I’ve only sold one, and even that at one-third of the usual price,” said trader, Ahmed Magaji. To see Africa's response to bird flu click HERE