Govt. receives report on bird flu, takes samples for test

The Rivers Government said on Thursday that it had received reports of new bird flu outbreak in the state. Dr Nnanna Onyekwere, Director, Public Health in the state Ministry of Health, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt.

He said that the state government had sent samples of stool of birds to the National Veterinary Institute, Jos, for bird flu test.

"Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture have visited the affected farms in Choba area of the state. Samples of stool of suspected birds have been sent to Jos for test to confirm if there is a new outbreak of bird flu in the state.

"The experts are closely monitoring the situation. The result of the test has not been received but we are on top of the situation," he said.

According to the Director, it will be difficult to know the number of birds affected until the result of the test is received.Onyekwere said the report of the stool test would determine the next action to be taken by government on the affected farms.

He urged the people not to panic and should remain vigilant and report any suspected incident of bird flu to the government.

NAN reports that the government had confirmed the discovery of the bird flu, after a thorough test was carried out on a bird which was showing signs in the state in January.