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Bird Flu Hits Niger


FILE: Representative illustration of chickens, which can suffer bird flu. Taken October 21, 2015.
FILE: Representative illustration of chickens, which can suffer bird flu. Taken October 21, 2015.

Niger has reported the highly contagious H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, among poultry in a village in the south of the country, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday.

The outbreak in the south of the Tahoua region killed most of a 4,920-strong flock, with the remaining birds slaughtered, the WOAH said in a note, citing information from the Niger authorities.

The outbreak of the virus, the first in Niger since July 2021, occurred in poultry ordered from the Zinder region by a local non-governmental organisation, WOAH added.

Parts of Africa have been affected by an unprecedented global wave of bird flu infections in the past year, which has led to the death of more than 100 million birds in Europe and the United States alone.

Besides hitting fowl growers in the pocket, having to destroy flocks of poultry due to bird flu also reduces the amount of meat coming to market, adding to the African continent's growing food insecurity.

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