FCT TO STAGE WAR AGAINST BIRD FLU,DENIES RESURGENCE

The Acting Secretary, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr.Musa A. Aliyu, has restated the official resolve to intensify efforts towards preventing the resurgence of Avian Influenza virus (bird flu)
in the Territory.

Dr. Aliyu’s remark came against the backdrop of the reported outbreak of the virus in some
parts of the country including FCT. “FCT is not going through any current outbreak of the
highly pathogenic Avian influenza,” he stated.The Secretariat, he said, learnt a lot oflessons from the 2016 outbreak and had since then become more

proactive in combating the virus.According to him, the Secretariat has established various levels of animal disease information networks with major stakeholders in the poultry  management business.

As part of its active surveillance network programme for pre-emptive and rapid response in the control of the influenza, the Secretariat has put inplace some structures, Dr. Aliyu remarked.

These include periodic sampling of commercial farms to screen birds,posting of veterinary officers to high density live bird markets to monitor the influx of birds into the FCT from other states and active preparedness to address emergency cases.

Dr. Aliyu stressed the need for residents to observe basic hygienic practices so as not to be exposed to the virus and promptly report any sign of abnormalities in their birds to the Secretariat as well as veterinary clinics located in the six Area Councils of FCT. The Ag. Secretary assured residents of the determination of the Administration of Malam Muhammad Musa Bello to prevent a repeat of