Fresh outbreak of Bird flu reaches 21 States of Nigeria

Fresh outbreak of Bird flu has been reported in 85 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 21 States of Nigeria according to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Sonny Echono.
He revealed that about 491 farms are affected with 1,597,191 bird loss.
Bird flu as the name implies is a disease that affects wild and domesticated birds (poultries and house birds);  however  very occasionally it affects human being, hence its importance. Until 1996, it was not known in human population, but in that year it affected one adult in the United Kingdom who developed eye infection after contact of his eye with duck feather. But this was a mild infection which healed easily.
In 1997, there was a major outbreak, the first of its kind in the world in Hong Kong with chest infections affecting 18 people out which 6 died. It was later found to be due to severe form of bird flu.
Since November 2003, nearly 400 cases of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses have been reported by more than a dozen countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near East.