Côte d’Ivoire confirms H5N1 bird flu outbreak

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Chickens are seen on a contaminated farm while Ministry of Animal Welfare workers prepare to remove them to contain an outbreak of bird flu, on a farm in the village of Modeste, Ivory Coast, on August 14, 2015. REUTERS / Luc Gnago

ABIDJAN, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Côte d’Ivoire has identified a highly pathogenic outbreak of H5N1 bird flu near the commercial capital of Abidjan and has taken steps to curb its spread, the ministry said. farmer in a statement.

Evidence confirmed the presence of the virus after a large number of poultry began dying in Grand Bassam commune on July 20, the ministry reported on Wednesday.

The movement of poultry has been limited to the Grand Bassam area, which is about 42 kilometers outside Abidjan, according to the statement. Poultry imports from other infected countries have been suspended.

Birds have been killed in the vicinity of the outbreak, according to the statement, without saying how many.

Côte d’Ivoire, which last reported bird flu outbreaks in 2006 and 2015, is the latest in several West African countries to report H5N1 outbreaks.

Togo and Ghana killed thousands of birds after detecting cases in June and July. This year, cases have also been detected in Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mauritania and Senegal. Read more

Written by Alessandra Prentice; edition by Cooper Inveen and Jason Neely

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