Health News of Sunday, 6 February 2022
Source: gbcghanaonline.com
File Photo
Thirty thousand poultry have been culled due to the avian flu outbreak in Bediako-Saki, a suburb in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality in the Greater Accra Region.
This is the largest infection in the Municipality. A visit to the Delawin farm saw the veterinary and environmental officers undertaking the destruction amidst spraying of disinfectants.
Speaking to GBC News, the Tema Metro Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Emmanuel Pecku said the farm reported the outbreak with 1,800 dying naturally on the farm and the remaining 20,200 destroyed by Veterinary Officers.
Dr. Pecku explained that the destruction of the birds was necessary to prevent the spread of the flu to other farms.
He explained that, ”bird flu can affect human beings, especially farmhands and all those who come into contact with infected birds”.
“The Assembly and the Veterinary Service will focus on containing and stamping out the disease, no human infections have yet been recorded”, he stated.
The Senior Environmental Health Officer at the Kpone- Katamanso Municipality, Samuel Benkrom said the Environmental Health Department of the Assembly put in measures to contain the spread of the disease and assured the public of effective surveillance and disease control management.
The Manager of the Delawin Farm, Papa Kofi Awuku-Edu said they have lost about GHC 400,000 bird flu, stressing that ”it is heartbreaking to see the birds being killed after investing so much money into the farm.”