News available to ViewPointNigeria indicates that bird flu (avian influenza) has broken out again in Jos killing over 11,000 birds. The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) disclosed on Monday that the outbreak had affected six farms.

Avian influenza is an infectious disease which spreads among birds. The chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria in the state, Mr John Dasar said the spread of the disease is due to the non-payment of compensation to farmers affected by the disease in 2015 and 2016.

He said some farmers would prefer to sell their affected birds to desperate marketers instead of reporting the incident to the appropriate authorities. More than 130 poultry farmers were affected by the disease in 2015 and 2016 but they had yet to be compensated. “Farmers in Plateau are really going through tough times because of the resurgence of bird flu in the last one week.

The chairman, however, called on the affected poultry farmers in the state to be patient, as modalities were on ground to ensure that they get compensations. “We were with the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, a month ago and he promised that something would be done in no distant time; to ensure that compensations are paid,’’ he said.

He, however, urged the farmers to report any outbreak in their farms to the appropriate authorities so as to avert any further spread of the disease in the state.

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Bird flu kills 11,000 birds in Plateau State