Bird flu in Yaounde: Hoax or reality?

Many Yaounde inhabitants who talked to The Median express doubt over the allegation of the presence of bird flu in Cameroon, asking why all the fowls in the Mvog-betsi poultry complex did not die in accordance with information given by the WHO on the danger that the disease poses. Some say it may just be a ploy by the government to receive aid from Cameroon’s foreign partners.

By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde

A communiqué issued by the ministry of livestock, fisheries and animal husbandry last week made public the sudden death of 15 000 out of 33 000 fowls at the Mvogbetsi poultry complex in Yaounde. The massive death of the birds has immediately been linked to bird flu which was present in Cameroon in 2016. To this effect, the SDO for Mfoundi released a circular banning the sale of fowls in the entire division. But the question that remains on many a critical lip is, is the announcement of bird flu in Yaounde a hoax or reality?

                Information gleaned from the website of the World Health Organization, WHO, indicates that the disease, which is caused by a highly pathogenic virus, has a high mortality rate amongst some species of poultry. The WHO further states that there is usually 100% death of affected poultry within 48 hours! 

                With this information published by the international health governing body, critics have since been questioning if the cause of the recent death of fowls at Mvogbetsi is truly bird flu. “Why did all the fowls in the poultry complex not die within 48 hours?” some of them whom we met in the streets of Yaounde asked. “Yes, 15 000 deaths are quite massive, but the number of fowls that survived is greater than that which died. Why is it so? Does bird flu choose some fowls and spare others in the same poultry?” another respondent queried.

                Yet another critic told The Median: “I remember that in 2006, bird flu affected poultry in Cameroon like many other countries, and many fowls died. But even after the disease had been eradicated in the country, our government insisted that there was still bird flu in Cameroon. The reason, we learned, was to deceive foreign donors to continue providing aid to the country and to even cancel some of our debts. Our Francophone brothers say ‘impossible n’est pas camerounais’. I hope it is not a similar situation this time around.”

What to know about bird flu

                It should be noted that there are many types of viruses that cause bird flu, all of which do not affect man. Some sub-types such as H5N1 and A(H7N9) can cause serious infections in human beings. The majority of cases of human infection of A(HN51) and A(H7N9) which were examined are said to have been the result of direct or indirect contact with infected poultry, alive or dead.

                It has however not been proven that contamination from human to human can be possible. In human beings, the signs of the A(H5N1) flu are: fever, cough, muscular pain and breathing difficulties. The illness evolves rapidly towards a serious attack of the internal respiratory track, with respiratory distress and neurological disorders that can lead to death. This is the situation with about 60% of cases.

                All of the above information is given by the WHO. Human beings are therefore advised to limit or avoid close contact with birds and fowls during the period of the epidemic. They are called upon to avoid touching or manipulating sick or dead birds or fowls and to immediately inform the authorities concerned of such cases. They are also advised to cook fowls and eggs well before eating; limit visits to places where fowls and other birds are kept in large quantities; wash their hands thoroughly with water and soap or use disinfectants to clean them; as well as boil, disinfect or filter water that has been left open or fetched from doubtful sources before consumption.