Parts of Africa have no bird flu defences
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Some countries in Africa have no defences at all against the possible arrival of deadly bird flu, the world animal health body said on Wednesday
Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), said countries like Namibia, Botswana and South Africa had services able to deal with the deadly H5N1 virus, but others like Somalia had no systems in place.
“Countries such as Somalia which are in civil war don’t have veterinary services. And some of those countries might have migratory flows of birds infected with bird flu,” Vallat told a French parliamentary committee on the virus.
“Around 30 African countries have benefited from significant European Union support to improve their veterinary support but about 15 countries have almost nothing,” added Vallat, head of the Paris-based OIE.
Africa has yet to report a confirmed case of the H5N1 strain, which has killed nearly 70 people in Asia and led to the destruction of millions of poultry across the region.
Human cases remain relatively rare, but there are fears the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic in which millions could die.
Experts believe the virus, also detected in birds in eastern Europe, could be spread to Africa by migrating wildfowl that fly to the east and centre of the continent as this time of year.
They fear that insufficient veterinary controls and the many backyard farms make Africa particularly vulnerable and the virus could become endemic in poultry as it has in parts of Asia.
Vallat said it was not necessary to be a rich country to combat the disease effectively.
He said Malaysia, South Korea and Romania had all managed to control the disease using policies recommended by the OIE.
“The most important thing is to have an early detection system, veterinary services in proximity and compensation that is as good as possible to encourage farmers to come forward without potentially losing money,” he said.
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