poultry after the H5N1 virus killed thousands of
birds, while there has been no record of human
infection, the ministry of agriculture has said.
The statement from the ministry, published on
Wednesday, said people would no longer be
allowed to transport live birds — and a poultry
farmer said that meant vendors would not be
able to sell the birds either.
The ban came as “two poultry farms with a total
of 3,600 birds at Denu and Keta (towns) in the
Volta region were… destroyed due to infections
on the farms,” the ministry said.
Poultry farmers say the actual number of birds
culled is far higher, and accuse the government
of failing to stem the outbreak.
The Ghana National Association of Farmers and
Fishermen on Thursday said 40,000 birds, 1,300
crates of eggs and 37 bags of feed had been
destroyed in 16 major poultry farms in Greater
Accra, Ashanti and Volta regions.
Spokesman of the Poultry Framers Association,
Stephen Kwaku Daku, said the “government’s
attempt to curb the spread of the deadly virus
has hit a snag.”
“The rate of the outbreak is very alarming and it
will need the immediate intervention of key
stakeholders… and development partners to
come to the aid of farmers. Living conditions of
the affected farmers have become very
unbearable,” he said.
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