Avian influenza, also known as bird flu which resurfaced in December 2021, has Plateau, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna states damaging poultry farms in its trails.
This has forced government officials to depopulate the farms.
Bird flu has no cure; hence experts advised that the best way to tackle the virus is through prevention by ensuring bio-security measures and restricting exposure.
In Plateau State, the outbreak was first noticed few days to Christmas. The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) said the virus had ravaged six farms spread across three local government areas in the state.
The PAN chairman in Plateau State, Johnson Bagudu, said no poultry owner had reported the outbreak to the association because they were afraid of possible depopulation of their farms and non-compensation by the authorities, as well as stigmatisation after the incident.
He advised farmers to get insurance, adding that the association was working on getting them a policy to ensure that in the event of such disaster, farmers would not suffer total loss
In Kaduna, the association said the virus, which was detected in January, ravaged three farms in Lere and Chikun local government areas, while test results conducted at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom in Plateau State for a fourth farm in Igabi Local Government Area returned negative.
The PAN chairman in Kaduna, Musa Bala, said although the virus had been brought under control in the state, it is a criminal offence for anyone to conceal it.
The situation is, however, reversed in Katsina and Plateau, where several farm owners are said to have concealed the disease and sold off their birds, further putting residents at risk.
In Katsina, the PAN chairman, Alhaji Musa Danhassan, said the virus had hit the state hard in many farms, with large flocks affected. “Many farms have reported but many others have not. Though it is reducing lately, it affected mostly farms with layers, pigeons and even our local chicken.
“Some farms had up to 40,000, 30,000, 10,000, 5,000 birds. Some did not even report their situation; therefore, we cannot give the rough estimate of loss suffered by our members, but it is really huge,” he said.
