Poultry farmers in Kano State have raised an alarm over a suspected Avian Influenza outbreak popularly known as bird flu that has so far claimed thousands of birds in the state.
It was gathered that at least eight major poultry farms have been affected and thousands of birds killed as a result of the outbreak.
Confirming the outbreak, the Director Livestock at the state’s Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Bello Bala revealed that after collecting samples from the affected farms, it was established that there was a bird flu outbreak.
He said that the Kano State government, in collaboration with the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria (PAN), had since taken measures to curtail the spread of the flu to other farms.
He added that eight farms had been affected and thousands of birds were depopulated to arrest the spread of the influenza to other farms.
Similarly, the state chapter Chairman of PAN, Alhaji Umar Usman Kibiya said when farmers in the state noticed that their birds were dying en mass, they quickly alerted the farmers’ association and action was immediately taken by the chapter.
He said that the PAN had taken samples to the desk officer at the Ministry of Agriculture for further investigation.
“It has become alarming that the farmers’ association had to authorise its members to submit samples for further investigation by the ministry and the result was confirmed to be bird flu. Indeed, poultry farmers have recorded a huge loss recently in Kano,” he said.
