Senegal reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Senegal’s Livestock Ministry has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a poultry farm in the village of Potou near the northwestern town of Louga.

The disease has killed 500 birds at the farm in Potou, while some 1,229 bird deaths have so far been recorded at the Langue de Barbarie Park and surrounding areas, the ministry said on Friday.

“It is highly likely that the virus was spread by migrating birds,” it added.

The highly pathogenic Type A H5N1 bird flu “was first detected on March 8 from samples taken from migratory royal and sandwich tern birds around the Pink Lake, and Yoff Island near the capital Dakar,” it also said, noting that at the Pink Lake, 323 bird deaths have been recorded, while at Yoff Island, 213 birds died.

Avian influenza or bird flu has been spreading around the world in the past year, killing more than 200 million birds, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. The outbreaks can heavily impact the poultry industry, the health of wild birds, and farmers' livelihoods, as well as international trade.