Following the discovery of Avian Influenza popularly known as Bird Flu at a breeder poultry farm (name withheld) located at Orile-Ilugun in Odeda local government area of Ogun state, the State government has allayed fears of thousands of poultry farmers, especially large-scale farmers operating in the state.
The State government has also activated Bird Flu Control Measures at the said breeder poultry farm, explaining that proactive steps has been taken to prevent spread of Avian Influenza pathogens to other poultry farms in the state and outside the state.
It will be recalled that cases of bird flu for which some birds were reportedly dead, was last reported in Ogun state in October, 2015.
Speaking on the measures taken by government on the Bird Flu, Adepeju Adebajo, Commissioner for Agriculture, declared that the Ministry had visited the farm on September 7 (Thursday) to carry out disease surveillance activities with the intention of curtailing any potential spread of the virus.
She said, “The causative agent was found to be H5N8, which is a variant of the H5N1 virus, that was previously known to exist in Nigeria”.
She however disclosed that there is no cause for alarm, as no live bird from other poultry farms in the state had tested positive to the highly pathogenic bird flu.
She added, “Samples of birds taken from another poultry farm in the Local Government Area of the state had tested negative to the H5N8 virus.
“Other farms and markets in Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ilaro and Ayetoro were not left out.”
RAZAQ AYINLA
