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nairaland.net • View topic - Nigeria can’t do without poultry

Nigeria can’t do without poultry

Nigeria can’t do without poultry

Postby Richard Akindele » Fri May 05, 2006 3:07 pm

It has been observed that inspite of the drop in the consumption rate of chicken and eggs due to recent reported cases of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) outbreak in parts of the country, Nigeria can not afford to do without poultry.

The observation was made by Dr Maduike Ezeibe during a one-day departmental public lecture organised by the Department of Animal Science and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, at Ebitimi Banigo Auditorium, recently. The theme of the lecture was “Bird Flu in Nigeria: Facts and Misconception�.

In a lecture delivered, Dr Ezeibe maintained that due to the problems associated to abstaining from chicken and eggs as well as the negative impact the bird flu outbreak would cause to Nigerian economy, the country can not afford to do without the poultry.

According to the guest lecturer, “the recommended protein intake for human is about 0.65kg about 43 per cent of protein intake come from animal protein. At present Nigeria falls short of the percentage and if not well managed Bird Flu outbreak can aggravate food crisis. Protein malnutrition (Kwashiokor) kills more than virus.�

The veterinary virologist pointed out that Nigeria has over 137 million chickens, 22 million are free roaming (not easy to monitor unlike in advanced countries).

He argued that poultry is one animal husbandry common to all tribes in Nigeria, as such many Nigerians are employed directly or indirectly in the industry; should it be shut down, many families will face hardship due to unemployment. He advocated for the exploration of new opportunities in area of frozen chicken business and reintegration of feather and blood meals to feed making.

The guest lecturer, advised that chicken and eggs should be properly cooked, adding that eating cooked chicken or eggs hardly exposes humans to HPAI infection. He pointed out that the HPAI has envelop and when the viral envelop ruptures it can no longer cause infection, cooking meat, soap, sun, detergents destroys the envelop and the virus, he added.

All you need to do as a poultry farmer to avoid the infection, according to him is “regular handwash with soap especially after work, wearing protective clothing, hand gloves, nose masks, eye goggles and boots when handling infected birds.

Affected farms must be properly disinfected, poultry workers should be vaccinated with human influenza vaccine while handling an outbreak, workers should be on anti influenza daily drugs e.g Oseltanavir (anti-neuraminidase). Workers who have been exposed should be monitored for one week (fever, respiratory signs and conjunctivitis)�.

As a food handler, he said raw poultry meat should not be allowed to touch already cooked food or anything that can be eaten raw. “Cook chicken and eggs well, also wash hands with soap frequently,� he warned.

Source: The Tide News
Richard Akindele
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