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Bird flu found in Cameroon
12/03/2006 17:43 - (SA)
Yaounde - Cameroon's government said on Sunday it had no plans to conduct a large-scale slaughter of poultry after the country became the fourth in Africa to become infected with the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus.
"We have no plans for any further culling at this stage," Agriculture Minister Aboudakari Sarki told AFP after 25 ducks on a farm near the northern town of Maroua where the outbreak was confirmed were slaughtered.
"Some ducks on a small farm in the town of Maroua died and the owner contacted the local office of the ministry for agriculture," the minister explained.
"Instructions were given to destroy the remaining ducks on the farm, a total of 25 birds, and to disinfect the area. That has now been done."
Tests showed that one of the ducks on the farm was infected with H5N1, of which there have been many outbreaks in neighbouring Nigeria in recent weeks.
The virus, which has killed about 97 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003, has also been confirmed in Niger and Egypt.
The government said on Saturday it had sent a team of experts to the extreme north, near the Nigerian border.
It said the delegation would help to "prevent the spread of the disease and any human contamination" in the north of the country and in the Adamaoua province.
But it gave no details of any specific measures planned to contain the outbreak, saying only that poultry farmers would be given "help to deal with their problems".
International agencies fear that if compensation is not provided to those affected, future cases of bird flu could be concealed by local populations who fear the loss of their livelihood.
Cameroon, which shares a 1 800km border with Nigeria, had already banned the import of birds from its neighbour after the discovery of bird flu there last month, the first such cases in Africa.
A delegation of experts from the United Nations travelled to Nigeria at the end of February to monitor the situation.
International experts fear that a lack of infrastructure, expertise and financial resources in Africa mean the world's poorest continent is ill-equipped to combat the spread of the disease.
The government of Chad, which borders Nigeria, Niger and the affected region of Cameroon, has already declared itself to be "completely unprepared" for any potential bird flu outbreak.
More than 6 000 chickens died in Ethiopia in February of bird flu, although it is not yet clear whether it was the H5N1 strain of the virus.
Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, predicted after the discovery of the virus in Niger that the disease would continue to spread.
"Without looking into a crystal ball, we would not be surprised if the oil slick continued to spread," he said, and called for a "huge effort from the international community".
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