The Bono Regional Health Directorate of Agriculture says it is conducting more tests on poultry in the region to check possible new cases of Avian influenza also known as Bird Flu.
The region has recently recorded several cases of the Bird Flu with over 9,000 infected birds being destroyed in the last few days alone, as a measure to control the spread of the virus.
In a Citi News interview, the Bono Regional Veterinary Officer, Dr. Donald Joachim Darko, said his team is on the lookout for farms in the region that will record new cases.
“The first farm that had the outbreak was with 7,200 birds. The second farm had 2,270 birds, and we buried 10 bags of feed that were prepared at 40 kg each, and then 783 crates of eggs were also buried alongside the dead birds.”
“So in all, we have about 9,470 in question as we are talking. We took our security persons to the farms to seal the place so that people will not go in and out of the place. We have got a farm that we are suspecting, and we sent the sample yesterday [Sunday], and the people have told us that they have received the sample. That farm is having about 2,353 birds. If it is confirmed, then we will destroy all the birds”, he said.
In 2021, seven regions reported cases of the flu; namely the Upper West, Greater Accra, Central, Ashanti, Volta, Western, and Western North Regions.
During the last outbreak, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced a total ban on the importation of poultry and poultry products from neighbouring countries where the prevalence of the disease was confirmed.
There was also a ban on the movement of poultry and poultry products within and from the affected regions and districts to other parts of the country, and strict inspection and issuance of permits to cover the movement of all poultry and poultry products from unaffected parts of the country.
