Bird Flu Discovered in Two More Nigerian States

Fears of an outbreak of bird flu in Africa grew yesterday after government officials confirmed that the deadly strain of the virus had been discovered in two more Nigerian states.

The first documented case of H5N1 bird flu in Africa was reported on Wednesday at a farm in Kaduna state, in the north of Africa’s most populous country. Agriculture ministry officials said yesterday the strain had been confirmed at two farms in Kano state and one in Plateau state.

Poultry farms across northern Nigeria were quarantined yesterday as the government gave orders to cull birds at farms where there had been suspicious deaths. It promised to compensate farmers.

The World Health Organization said last night the development was "a cause for great concern" and demanded "immediate action". Its director general, Dr Lee Jong-wook, said the outbreak meant "no country is immune to H5N1. Every country is at risk. Every country must prepare."

Chickens started dying in large numbers in northern Nigeria four weeks ago, raising fears that the virus could have spread across the country and possibly into neighboring west African states before its presence was confirmed. In recent weeks the price of chicken in the markets has plummeted as farmers have rushed to sell diseased birds. No human infections have been reported in Nigeria, but 40,000 birds died at the Kaduna farm at which the virus was first reported.

The battery farm, which is owned by the country’s sports minister, Saidu Balarabe Sambawa, had 46,000 chicken, geese and ostriches. At the farm 15 concrete hangars used as chicken pens were empty yesterday and workers said that all the birds had died about a month ago.

Around 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.

A team of government officials who visited the farm in search of human victims was unable to speak to its management. Aliyu Sale, one of the officials, said: "We want to find out if it’s affecting people. Unfortunately we couldn’t meet anybody and all the chickens have died already." The sports minister is attending the African Cup tournament in Egypt.

Nigeria has a poultry population of about 140m. Millions of people keep chicken in their backyards. Because they lack refrigerators, most people buy chickens live and slaughter them just before cooking - thereby increasing the risk of human infection. The WHO said: "If the virus has spread to household flocks, public information campaigns will be needed to warn populations to avoid high-risk behavior, including slaughtering, defeathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of diseased poultry."