A bird flu outbreak in Nigeria's central state of Plateau
since last month has killed 42,000 poultry so far, leading to the catastrophic
loss of revenues by poultry farmers and posing huge risks to consumers of
poultry products in Africa's most populous country.
The Poultry Association of Nigeria which gave the figure on
Monday said in the past week more birds were depopulated in local farms due to
the outbreak.
"This development has brought huge losses to local
farmers," said John Dasar, Plateau State head of the local poultry
association.
In total, 12 farms have been so far affected by bird flu
outbreak in the state.
The bird flu, also known as avian flu, is influenza that
spreads among birds and can affect humans.
Dasar attributed the fast spread of bird flu in the central
Nigerian state to the hesitation by farmers to report cases in their farms to
the authorities.
At least 130 poultry farmers were affected by the disease in
2015 and 2016 but none of them had been compensated by the authorities, he
said.
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