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Ghana has equipment to detect bird flu
virus - Veterinary Services
Accra, May 8, GNA - The Veterinary Services Department of
the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on Tuesday
assured the public that Ghana has the necessary equipment to
test avian influenza virus.
"The Veterinary Services has an Avian Influenza Diagnostic
Laboratory, which was refurbished in April 2006 by the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR),
which has an advanced facility - Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
- to detect genre of the virus," Dr Enoch Boye-Mensah Koney,
Director of Veterinary Services told the Ghana News Agency
in Accra.
He was refuting claims by the Tema Municipal Poultry and
Livestock Farmers Association and Farmers' Union, who have
doubted the authenticity of the reported outbreak of the
H5NI Bird flu in the Municipality.
Dr Koney explained that the specimen that was collected from
the farm in Tema was first sent to the Accra Veterinary
Services Laboratory, then to Noguchi
and U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt for
confirmation.
"Samples have further been taken to the International Animal
Health Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory at Padova,
Italy, to determine the sequencing or the type of strain of
the virus,” he said.
“The report will help us to trace the source and know
whether the type we have detected in Ghana here is the
Nigerian type, South Asian or any other type."
He assured poultry and livestock farmers in the Municipality
to believe that there was an outbreak of the bird flu virus
and advised them to ensure bio-security by maintaining
higher standards of hygiene and also put in protective
measures against wild birds and other ruminants.
"Currently, our officers are on the field specifically at
the place in question, which is 200 metres from Michel Camp
destroying all farms, first of all, within three-kilometre
radius, then extending it to five kilometre radius and then
eight kilometres radius. This is to ensure safety of the
people."
Dr Koney asked the public not to panic, since the Service
had deployed task officers working to prevent further
outbreak of the virus.
Mr Ernest Debrah, Minister of the MOFA on May 2 announced at
a press conference in Accra that the bird flu virus had been
detected on a small-scale farm in Tema but no human had been
affected.
GNA
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