Avian flu in Nigeria concerns WHO
THE confirmation of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza in poultry in Nigeria has raised alarm within the World Health Organisation, which issued an appeal Thursday for coordinated effort and immediate action to warn Nigerians about the consequences of contact with sick birds.
“This is the first reported incidence of this highly pathogenic virus on the continent, where people are already enduring the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other serious infectious diseases,” said a statement from WHO director general Lee Jong-wook.
“The H5N1 virus now confirmed in Nigeria poses a risk to human health and livelihood.”
That risk is exacerbated by an already struggling health system, burdened by children and adults suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, respiratory infections and other infectious conditions.
