Bird flu: 1,000 chickens culled, eggs and feed destroyed

Ghana’s veterinary officers have culled over 1,000 birds at Kpone in the Greater Accra Region following the confirmation of the presence of Bird Flu in the country by an Italian laboratory.
No human infection has been detected so far.
Head of Public Health at the Veterinary Service, Dr Boi Kiki-Moto told Starr News that farmers and veterinary officers are on high alert to contain the outbreak.
He said over 50 crates of eggs and bags of feed have been destroyed.
Dr Kiki-Moto advised urged farmers not to panic when they see their birds suddenly die on their farms. He assured that many farms are being monitored following the news from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Laboratory in Italy.
Hundreds of birds have already been culled at poultry farms at Achimota where the disease was detected.
The samples taken from the farm were sent to Italy after they tested positive at the Accra Veterinary Laboratory and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Hannah Bissiw at a press briefing Wednesday said her Ministry will collaborate with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to put a surveillance team in place to curtail the spread of the virus in the country.
Poultry farmers across the country have also been advised to observe some safety measures to curb the spread of the disease.
Precautions
Dr Bissiw outlined some necessary precautions that must be followed, including:
1. Isolation of identified farms
2. Destruction of all poultry, eggs, feed and other materials on these infected farms
3. Disinfection of infected farms
4. Working with experts like Veterinary Officers to screen all poultry workers on affected farms for symptoms of the disease.
Credit: StarrfmOnline