Bird flu is back

One of Nigeria’s most lucrative agricultural sectors, the Poultry industry, has been struck with the H5N1 virus more commonly known as the Bird Flu.

Reports from the country’s Ministry of Agriculture suggest that over 140,000 birds may have been exposed to the deadly disease.

Over 21 farms spread across seven Nigerian states, including its commercial hub, Lagos have either recorded cases or been exposed to the disease, the report added.

Authorities, according to ThisDay, believe the disease arrived in Lagos and Kano – the country’s two biggest commercial communities in Nigeria – last week. One resident of Lagos state told Ventures that the Lagos outbreak might have originated from a farm in Ajah, a small community on the Lagos Island.

The poultry sector has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, growing faster than the oil, real estate, and telecommunication sectors combined. Nigeria’s poultry market is now said to be worth $3.2 billion, according to figures from Business Day. .

Farmers and retailers alike are already feeling the heat. A local trader in Lagos explained to Ventures this week that the prices of live birds have collapsed 73 percent in less than a month to N800 ($4) from a Christmas high of N3000 ($15).

With chicken and eggs a frequent component of the average Nigerian meal, fears are rising across the food market.

Calming nerves

Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s agriculture minister, has moved quickly to calm the nerves of Nigerians by revealing that all 21 farms with suspected cases have been quarantined and birds suspected of exposure have been culled.

“All the farms have been quarantined and decontaminated. Other locations in Ikorodu, Ojo and Lagos Mainland have already been quarantined, while awaiting confirmation.”

He assured farmers and consumers that his ministry was prepared to contain the most recent appearance of the H5N1 Bird Flu strain: “Nigeria will successfully control the bird flu outbreak. We have successfully controlled it in the past.”

-Ventures Africa