The bird flu disease is spreading fast across farms since the country first confirmed an outbreak in July. Volta, Greater and Eastern region were the first to report the outbreak of over 10,000 birds affected. The disease has since then spread to other parts including the Ashanti area.
This comes despite the ban on importation and movement of poultry products to and from the affected areas.
Speaking to Dr Bashiru Kiki, the head of National Food Security Laboratory for Animal Health on midday news on 3FM, he said, “The issue is that we currently have about 4 regions still affected by the highly infected influenza but from the time we discussed this issue, about 32 days ago when the first outbreak was confirmed, there were only about 7 farms affected in Ghana but currently we have noticed an increase in the number of farms affected by the Influenza in Greater Accra especially.”
“The first time they were just about 4 farms, later the number increased to 10 and then 14 and as I am speaking to you, as at yesterday we had about 21 farms affected by the influenza affected in Greater Accra alone leading to a total of 46,129 birds that have either died naturally or being depopulated.”
“Meaning that a constituency having a total number of 46,129 people, these birds could have fed the people in that constituency but we have lost all due to the average of the highly pathogenic influenza.”
Answering to a question that was asked on his advice to whether chicken lovers to stay away from chicken or what?, Dr said, “ I think my advice is that from our own check from the veterinary services of the Food and Agriculture, we have realized that some farmers were actually throwing away the birds because they were thinking that they will not get any compensation even if the veterinary should intervene and this seems to know when they are carried away by these rubbish boys that’s how the disease begins to spread.”
“From reports gotten yesterday, once they have gotten the assurance from the deputy minister that they will be compensated, we are appealing to them to make sure that the average cases are maintained for veterinary services to take full stock of all the poultry and the eggs and fed that will be destroyed so that at least when ever it is compensation, they will be considered..”
