Nigeria struggles against bird flu virus., By Dino Mahtani in Lagos
Published: February 16 2006 16:31 | Last updated: February 16 2006 16:31

The deadly H5N1 strain was first confirmed in a commercial farm in northern Nigeria last week, and subsequently detected in nearby farms. However many rural farmers in the vicinity claim their fowl have been dying for weeks. The outbreak of bird flu in Nigeria is the first known appearance in Africa of the virus which has already killed over 90 people, mostly in Asia.

Tens of thousands of poultry have died or been culled in farms that have been officially quarantined by the government. But some officials fear the virus has already spread beyond the government’s reach.

The government’s response has been crippled by a lack of equipment and technical expertise amid administrative delays and fumbling between different ministries and authorities. Culling exercises at some farms were undertaken by farm workers who used bare hands to throw sick and dead chickens onto fires while children watched.

The government has dispatched a small clean up team to the north, equipped with safety suits donated from the US. The team is likely to face a painstaking task ensuring safe culling exercises and effective investigations halt the spread of the virus to remote rural areas where chickens often run freely in villages and backyards.

“It is a disaster. We are concerned for Nigeria, but also for the region as a whole.” said Juan Lubroth, a senior official at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.