Nigeria : Backyard poultry and bird flu burden

Via Nigerian Compass, excerpt from a long article but it's worth your time to read it :

" AS Jide Olorunmbe (not real names), eight-year-old primary school pupil, approached his home in Ojokoro, on the outskirts of Lagos metropolis that afternoon, he walked through chickens, ducks, turkeys and other bird stocks seeking food in front of his house.

Being very familiar with the birds, his reaction to some of ducks, which tried to flee the scene was typical of that of a child. He made a quick move towards the ducks and fell on droppings (waste matter left by various birds), which littered the front of his house.

However, little Jide was excited as he caught one of the ducks by its legs. As it croaked and struggled to re-gain its freedom, Jide was simply amused by the reaction of the duck. It took strong condemnation from Jide's mother for the duck to regain its freedom.

Curiously, Jide’s body contact with the droppings never provoked any negative reaction. He merely dusted it off his arms with his hands, and within minutes, he was eating fried fish with the unwashed hands."

Nigeria : Cholera outbreak - 70 hospitalised in Osun State

Via Nigerian Compass :

" The cholera epidemic, which has assumed the status of a devastating hurricane sweeping through the Northern part of the country, has now recorded 6,497 cases with 352 deaths and the Federal Government recently alerted the nation that the entire country was at risk of the epidemic.

Ravaging the entire nation like wildfire, the fast killing ailment has surfaced in the South-Western part of the country.

In Osun State, no fewer than 70 persons were hospitalised at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife on Friday, following a cholera outbreak in Ife Central Local Government of Osun.

Dr Funso Ajao, the state’s Director of Primary Health Care Development Agency, announced this in Osogbo, the state capital on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ajao said that the affected persons were responding to treatment at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, where most of the patients were admitted. He said that the epidemic is yet to kill anyone.

His words; “As I am speaking with you right now, the epidemic has not claimed any live and we pray that no live will be lost.

“Officials of the Ministry of Health have intervened on how to put the situation under control, they are in every nook and cranny of the affected area, doing the necessary cleaning and fumigation of areas where sanitary conditions are poor.”