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Niger: Farm quarantined as region takes precautions against bird flu

Niger has identified a suspected outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on a chicken farm in the southern town of Maradi. Several cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Nigeria.

Last week, authorities in Niger said they had isolated the farm and banned the transport of all poultry out of the town while they waited for samples to be tested.

The suspected cases in Niger come a week after Burkina Faso also confirmed an outbreak of H5N1. Niger’s livestock minister, Bangana Ibrahim, said that all poultry imports had been banned from any nation with confirmed cases of bird flu.

Ivory Coast and Mali have imposed similar preventative measures. Ivory Coast has already turned back about 30,000 chickens at the Burkinabe border.

To read the full article, go to: http://www.trust.org/item/20150409195726-toqah/ [1]

Photo: Chickens for sale at a local market in Gombe State, January 30, 2015. Credit: REUTERS/ Afolabi Sotunde