Security agencies educated on Bird Flu

Representatives of the security agencies in the Greater Accra Region have been educated on the avian influenza and urged to support efforts at keeping the disease out of the country.

“This exercise can only happen with the support of the security agencies, who will help contain the disease from further spreading,” Dr Hannah Bisiw, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture said at a workshop in Accra.

The sector Ministry in collaboration with the Veterinary Services held the day’s workshop to properly inform the chiefs and commanders of the security forces on the disease.

Various presentations on the update on the bird flu and its epidemiology, disease recognition of the flu, biosecurity for control of bird flu and communication strategy and movement of poultry was made by officers of the Veterinary services.

Dr Bisiw explained that the workshop formed part of the campaign to enable participants to use knowledge gained on bird flu to assist the Ministry to completely eradicate the outbreak from the country and by controlling and preventing new cases at the borders.

“The disease is causing huge economic loses to both farmers and to the country. We all need to work hard to save our poultry industry from collapsing, as a result of bird flu outbreaks,” Dr Bisiw noted.

Dr Bisiw said the bird flu virus currently found in the country is now more aggressive than what entered the country in May, so all efforts must be made to contain it.

She, however, insisted that it was still safe to eat chicken, which is well cooked, adding that, those who are at risk are the workers and farmers who own the poultry farms.

She assured that government was determined to keep the disease out of Ghana and so more of the sensitisation workshop would be organised for poultry farmers, live bird traders, feed millers, processors and hatchery operators.

She said other measures being taken include the posting of veterinary officers to man entry points in the regions where the bird flu had not yet been recorded, to monitor movement of live poultry products and poultry inputs, which include feed and vaccines into the unaffected region.

There is also a ban on movement of poultry and poultry products from infected regions to unaffected regions.

All movement of live poultry, poultry products and inputs in all regions are to be accompanied by movement permits signed by the personnel of the Veterinary Services Directorate, as a competent authority. Any person who moves live poultry or poultry product without valid movement permit, would have them completely destroyed.

Dr Paul Polkuu, of the Epidemiology Unit at the Veterinary Services said the bird flu menace, which was reported in May this year in two farms within the Greater Accra region, has so far spread to nine districts in the region and other districts in the Volta and the Ashanti Regions.

In the Volta region, two districts, namely Keta and Ketu have recorded the disease and in Ashanti region, the outbreak was recorded in Obuasi, with 20 outbreaks in the Greater Accra region in places like Ga East and Ada.

He expressed the hope that with the ongoing sensitisation, especially for the security forces, an active surveillance would be mounted to identify hidden spots to help control the disease.

Dr Eugene Yelfaanibe, Deputy Director, Veterinary Services, mentioned some of the clinical signs of bird flu as sudden death of birds, drowsiness and depression, swollen face, greenish diarrhoea, birds budding or crowding together, nervous signs, paralysis, swollen wattles and raffle feathers.