260 chickens, ducks and a cat die of suspected avian flu in DRC
Agricultural officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded at
least 260 chickens and ducks suspected of having died of the avian flu,
Agriculture Minister Constant Ndom Nda said on Thursday.
Announcing this at a news conference in the capital, Kinshasa, he made a
public appeal to the United Nations for help to face the danger, and for the
rehabilitation of veterinary laboratories in Kinshasa and the southern city of
Lumbumbashi.
"We have passed Phase Four, and are no longer simply limited to
mobilisation but to active intervention on the ground because we are now perhaps
living in danger," he said.
The permanent secretary at the ministry, Ali Ramazani, said it only learnt
about the birds on Thursday, which actually died three or four days ago. He said
100 of them died in a single day in Tshikapa, a town in the south-central
province of Kasai Occidental. He said the dead birds presented a danger to
public health because tests had not been conducted.
"The problem is that most of the dead chicken and ducks in Tshikapa have
been eaten," Ramazani said.
There were migratory birds among the dead. Samples of six dead pigeons, also
found in Kinshasa, have been sent to South Africa for laboratory analysis. A
cat, which ate one of the dead pigeons, also died.
Congo has taken several measures in response to the appearance of the virus
in Africa; first in Nigeria and then in Cameroon. All imports of eggs from
countries that have reported the avian flu have been banned.
On Monday, Congolese authorities said they had quarantined a ship carrying
poultry products imported from Belgium, Germany and Poland. In February, the
Congo set up a National Crisis Committee, and opened similar offices in each of
the country's 11 provinces.
At the national level, the committee comprises official from the ministries
of health, of agriculture, of external trade and of the environment associated
with UN humanitarian bodies and NGOs. The committees at the provincial level are
charged with surveillance and public information campaigns on the virus.
Poultry imports account for 90 percent of Congo's supplies in the commodity.
The remaining 10 percent, or some 20 million free-range poultry, are reared in
the country. © IRIN
More information:
 www.irinnews.org
[This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or
its agencies.]
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