Bird Flu: Protect Your Farms – Ekiti Govt Tells Poultry Farmers

The Ekiti State Government has issued warnings to Poultry farmers and other stakeholders to take precautionary measures against the spread of Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in the State.

Naija News reports that the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, said the alert became necessary to avoid devastating effects on the livelihoods of farmers.

In a statement on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, Boluwade warned farmers and residents of the state to be careful as the virus can be transmitted from birds to man and vice versa.

“Avian Influenza is a zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from birds to man and vice versa stressing that the highly infectious disease could have a devasting effect on poultry if not prevented,” he said.

Boluwade charged concerned stakeholders to “increase biosecurity measures on their farms especially now that suspected cases of the disease have been reported in some States in Nigeria by regularly cleaning and disinfecting their clothing, foot wears and equipment as well as vehicles used on the farms to prevent the spread of the influenza” in the state.

Other precautionary measures to be taken by farmers and stakeholders according to the Commissioner include, “avoiding sharing equipment with other farms and reporting with immediate effect, any signs of sickness or sudden deaths in flocks fo the nearest veterinary offices across the Local Governments or at the Avian Influenza Control Project Desk Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ado-Ekiti.”