Health

Avian Flu Reaches Africa

posted: 08 February 2006 08:48 am ET

PARIS (AP)—A "highly pathogenic'' strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria—the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday.

Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a village in the northern Kaduna state, according to the organization known by the acronym OIE. OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione said the outbreak was the first reported case of H5N1 in Africa.

Nigerian authorities officially notified the OIE on Wednesday about the outbreak, the agency said in a statement. The outbreak affected commercial, battery-cage poultry.

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A laboratory in Padova, Italy, identified "a highly pathogenic H5N1 and has further analyzed its genetic composition. Investigations are being carried out in order to define the degree of genetic homology with the currently known H5N1 strains,'' said the statement.

Nigerian authorities have introduced quarantine measures and controls on the movement of animals and disinfected the infected farm, said the OIE.

It said it is working with the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization to coordinate its response to the outbreak.

"A team of experts will be sent to the affected area in order to assess the situation and provide technical advice,'' it said.

According to the World Health Organization, about 160 human cases of the virus have been reported worldwide, and at least 85 people have died. Almost all of those who died were in Asia, and most are believed to have come into contact with infected birds. The disease has also been found in humans in Turkey and Iraq, and in birds in Europe.

Experts fear the strain could mutate into a form easily transmissible from human to human and spark a worldwide pandemic.