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News/Event Item
Burkina Faso: Bird Flu Outbreak Confirmed, But Country Unprepared
4 March 2006
By IRIN
…The Burkina Faso Minister of Animal Resources Toemoko Konate confirmed in a radio address late on Monday that three cases of the bird flu strain H5N1 have been identified on a poultry farm in the Saaba department of Kadiogo province, just 10 km from the capital Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso officially notified the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on Tuesday morning.
For an epidemic to be contained control measures including disinfection, movement controls and widespread culling of poultry and wild birds should be enacted within 48 hours of the outbreak. Yet the stricken Kadiogo province alone covers roughly 3,000 square kilometers, and has 1 million inhabitants.
And veterinary officials in neighboring Ghana have also been put on alert following the discovery of the deadly virus in Burkina Faso.
"The disease is a real threat. Before the threat was at our borders, now it is within the country. We must continue to be watchful both inside and at the borders," said Minister Konate.
Copyright 2006 IRIN
For the Full Article, visit:
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52614&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=BURKINA_FASO
category: News from Other Sources : Outbreaks
contributed by Sean Kellem on 4 April 2006
Africa : Burkina Faso
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