Measures are being put in place to prevent bird flu escalation- PFA

President of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, Michael Nyarko Ampem, has assured that measures are being put in place to mitigate the spread of the Bird flu across the country.

Speaking in an interview, he stated that the news of the current flu which has been found on some farms, is a measure to ensure that actions are taken to prevent the situation from escalating.

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“The situation is not very dire. If you take a population of about 30 million birds or 50 million birds,;we can say that it is not that serious but we cannot be idle about the situation. So, at this moment measures are being put in place so that it doesn’t escalate.”
Michael Ampem

Credit: Capture alliance Poultry being disposed.

According to him,;the outbreak in Ghana is not as scary as it may seem adding that the danger associated with the bird flu is more likely to affect poultry farmers than consumers.

“The danger we are talking about here is to the farmer and not the consumer;because definitely the consumer will not purchase an infected bird but those who work at the farms are those who are at risk. This is why measures are being put in place;so that if those who work at the farm contract it, they do not spread it around.”
Michael Ampem

Mr. Ampem revealed that as it stands,;no antidote has been discovered to deal with the Avian Influenza also known as Bird Flu. As such, he disclosed that, the poultry farmers have been advised to ensure the biosecurity of their farms to prevent the further spread of the flu.

Agric Ministry’s confirmation of Bird flu

This follows the announcement by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture through the Veterinary Services Directorate on Friday, July 17, 2021, confirming the outbreak of the flu in some parts of the country.

In a presser by the Director of the Veterinary Services Directorate,;Dr. Patrick Abakeh said the Flu was detected in the Greater Accra, Central, and Volta Regions.

Seven farms affected so far

Currently, reports have it that, seven farms have so far been affected with the Bird Flu in the country.

According to the Director of the Veterinary Services Directorate, Dr. Patrick Abakeh, a total of 5,811 birds have died naturally on these affected farms, while the Service destroyed 4,500 birds.

Detailing the number of poultry affected, the Director said the disease affected five farms in Greater Accra; killing 3,167 birds naturally and resulting in some 300 others being destroyed.

He also disclosed that, the flu affected one farm in the Central Region, causing 2,400 birds to die naturally while 4,200 birds were destroyed.

One farm in the Volta Region according to Dr. Abakeh, was also affected which resulted in 224 birds dying naturally.

Dr. Abakeh further revealed that after the outbreak was detected in the country on July 6, 2021, samples were taken to the to the laboratory to test, which was later confirmed to have been the virus.