B2H Nigeria????

DANBARE, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria scrambled on Saturday to discover whether people who had fallen ill close to where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was found had caught the disease and farmers culled thousands more sick chickens.

No human case of bird flu has been confirmed in Africa's most populous country, where H5N1 has killed tens of thousands of poultry, but it is hard for authorities to monitor because of logistical problems and the high mortality from other diseases.

"There are a few suspected cases ... We're trying to locate them but our sources can't provide us with addresses for now," said Abdulsalam Nasidi, who is in charge of the response to bird flu as a threat to humans at the federal Health Ministry.

He said epidemiologists were searching for two people feared to have contracted bird flu in the northern state of Kaduna, close to Sambawa Farms where one of the poultry samples was found that tested positive for H5N1.

Samples have already been taken from people who are ill in the areas affected by bird flu. Should tests in Nigerian laboratories indicate the presence of bird flu, the samples would be sent abroad for further testing, Nasidi said.

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Guess there will be a shortage of WHO recruits in Africa if all the Voodoo Doctors die. Who are going to raise thw dead amd make love postions? We should bring them to America and Tyson can supply them with free chickens so they can continue to practice freedom of religion.

Voodoo devotees at risk of getting bird flu (English)
By Pawana Abalo | Cotonou, Benin - Priests who tear out the throats of live chickens in ritual sacrifices to Voodoo gods may risk contracting bird flu after the deadly virus reached Africa. | Voodoo priests in Benin, which borders with Nigeria where ...
  http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86& amp; amp;art_id=qw1139909760918B216

Well all I have to say about these last couple of articles on Africa is 'Why are they wasting their time?'.  Ripping the necks out of live chickens???  The Voodoo priests probably think they are immune from any disease.  This has to be it - the H2H mutation will most likely happen in Africa where most people on this forum have guessed it would.  For all we know, it already has....we'll NEVER know what is truly going on in Africa.

Poultry are still being moved around despite an official quarantine, a senior official at the Food and Agriculture Organisation says.

Juan Lubroth also said the deadly H5N1 strain may have been found in nearby Niger - which denied the reports.

No human cases of bird flu have been found in Africa, although Nigeria chicken farmers are being screened.

Thousands of chickens have been dying in Nigeria for more than a month.

All four confirmed cases of bird flu have been linked to a single farm in northern Nigeria, said Agriculture Minister Adamu Bello.

None of the workers on the farm have shown any signs of illness.

The official in charge of the clean-up campaign has said that 40 farms around Kano city had reported suspicious bird deaths.

"The disease is spreading fast," he told the AFP news agency.

There have been numerous reports of chicken farmers rushing to sell their birds before officials cull them. They say the compensation offered by the government is too low.

"There is a restriction of movement for animals out of Kano and Kaduna states but on the ground it does not really seem to be holding," Mr Lubroth said.

But a Niger government spokesman denied that the H5N1 strain had been found across the border, with two dead roosters reportedly being tested.

"Until there is proof to the contrary, and we repeat this, there is no avian flu outbreak in Niger," said Mohamed ben Omar.

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