Bird Flu Outbreak: MOFA Bans Movement of Poultry in 3 Regions

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has placed a temporary ban on the movement of poultry and poultry products in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions.

This follows an outbreak of Bird flu in those areas, leading to the destruction of over eleven thousand birds.

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Out of the number, over five thousand died at Boankra, near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, while over five thousand of the birds were killed in Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region.

The National Director of Veterinary Services at the Agric Ministry, Dr. Kingsley Micky Aryee, told Citi News the affected farms have also been quarantined to avert a spread of the virus.

“We have destroyed all the animals on the farm, we have buried, we have covered, we have done disinfection, but not all the disinfection, we have to do at least three disinfections. We have also placed the ban on animals from the areas from both farms that are affected or not affected,” he said.

Bird Flu outbreak

Confirming the outbreak to the Daily Graphic in Accra on Monday, the Head of Public Health and Food Safety, Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Dr. Boi Kikimoto, said the ministry was aware of the outbreak and had already sent samples of the virus to the world reference laboratory of the World Animal Health Organisation in Pandova, Italy for further tests.

He explained that it was a standard procedure because that was the only place with the certified laboratory to test the virus and “secondly, they will help provide the palindromic sequence of the bird flu gene for us.”

Previous outbreaks

In 2016, more than 25,000 birds were destroyed between January and July, as a result of the Avian Influenza (bird flu) on poultry farms.

In all, 13 farms in the country were affected, out of which seven were recorded in the Greater Accra Region.

In 2015, a total of 76,326 birds were destroyed as a result of the outbreak of the epidemic nationwide.

Source: Citinewsroom