Chickens suffocated in bags
2006-02-22 15:03
Kano - Nigerian health workers are working overtime, suffocating tens of thousands of chickens in plastic bags in an uphill battle to fight Africa's first outbreak of bird flu.
The process is necessary as chopping off their heads increases the risk of infection to the workers involved, says Shehu Bawa, who is overseeing clean-up operations in the northern state of Kano, one of the epicentres of the deadly H5N1 virus.
"This method of suffocating the chickens in polythene bags is easier and more humane than slitting their throat or strangulating them," Bawa told AFP at an infected farm, his voice muffled by a light-blue mask he was wearing.
"We realised that slitting the throat of the chickens results in spilling their blood which exposes the killer to great risk of infection and also increases the chance of spread of the virus," he said.
The virus is spreading
"We are getting more reports of infected farms and it is obvious the virus is spreading," Bawa said, speaking at a farm in the Zawaciki suburb of the teeming northern city of Kano, the capital of Kano state.
Meanwhile, the nine members of his team at the farm press on with their task, wearing disposable protective clothing, rubber boots and gloves, as they swelter under a baking sun.
They move from pen to pen, stuffing apparently healthy chickens into white polythene bags - 20 in each - before burning and burying them in a giant pit which is then covered with sand.
Outside the gate, another member of the team stands holding a knapsack of disinfectant, spraying those who come out of the farm after finishing their task as curious crowds look on, awestruck by the unfamiliar proceedings.
More than 150 000 chickens have perished due to bird flu or have been slaughtered as a precautionary measure in 40 farms in and around Kano, Bawa said, adding that despite the cleanup the virus was spreading.
"We have recorded infections in five more farms with a total capacity of 35 000 chickens," he said. "And I am sure we will receive more cases."
"What increases the rate of the spread is the fact that poultry farms are clustered in some areas and once one is infected the virus quickly spreads," he said, as he set fire to the petrol-doused pit, sending a black spiral of smoke into the clear sky.
Nigeria on Monday confirmed that bird flu had been detected in three new states and the capital Abuja, bringing the total number of areas affected to seven but has repeatedly stressed that there have been no human cases.
Meanwhile, villagers in and around Kano complain they are losing their broods to a strange disease. While aware of the bird flu outbreak they are hoping it is something else.
In Yankatsare, a village 15km east of Kano, 42-year-old Aliyu Mohammed said: "I have lost 48 out of 60 chickens within a week."
Most people in the village are also ignoring government warnings and eating chicken, the cheapest meat in Nigeria.