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FAO calls for urgent action to fight avian flu in West Africa

Xinhua, July 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday called for an urgent action to fight avian flu in West Africa.

The call follows outbreaks of the virus in Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger and Cote d'Ivoire.

"Fears are growing that without timely intervention to stem outbreaks of the highly virulent avian flu virus H5N1 across West Africa, further spread across the region and beyond is inevitable," a FAO statement said.

Urgent action is needed to strengthen veterinary investigation and reporting systems in the region before there is a spillover to humans, said head of FAO's Animal Health Service Division, Juan Lubroth.

The organization cautioned that "the disease can be transmitted to humans and is considered highly lethal."

It is appealing for 20 million U.S. dollars to curb the spread of the virus across West Africa, and is working with the World Health Organization in efforts to battle it.

The first-time incursion of the H5N1 virus in West Africa occurred in 2006, and was eliminated by 2008.

The virus broke out again in Nigeria in late 2014 where it spread rapidly in the following three months and to date more than 1.6 million birds have died from the virus. Enditem