Farmers in the Builsa South District have been schooled on the signs, symptoms and ways of preventing the occurrence of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in the District.
The seminar was part of precautionary measures taken by the Veterinary Services in the District to prevent the occurrence of the disease in the area.
The District Veterinary officer, Mr Michael Ayuebe, explained to the farmers that, the disease had spread to three regions in the country, Greater Accra, Volta and Ashanti Regions, and has killed 23,744 birds on 23 farms in 14 districts in the affected regions.
Mr Ayuebe said even though the District had not yet recorded the occurrence of the disease, it was imperative to put all precautionary measures in place to prevent its occurrence, hence the seminar to educate all stakeholders.
Some of the signs and symptoms include drooling, watery droppings, opened beaks, closed eyes and dullness and weakness of birds, he said, and urged the farmers to look out for such signs and alert the Veterinary office.
On measures to prevent the disease from spreading to birds and humans, the veterinary officer told the farmers to cook all poultry products properly before eating, avoid touching sick birds with bare hands and bury all dead birds.
He was optimistic that the knowledge acquired at the end of the programme would go a long way to help farmers to easily identify and prevent the spread of the disease in the District.
Source: GhanaWeb
