Bird flu in Burkina Faso

Landlocked country in West Africa, surrounded by Mali (N), Niger (E), Benin (SE), Togo and Ghana (S) and Ivory Coast (SW). Formerly the Republic of Upper Volta, its name was changed in 1984, now meaning “the land of upright people”. Previously a French province, it gained its independence in 1960.

Burkina Faso confirms H5N1 case

Monday, July 3rd, 2006

The West African state of Burkina Faso has confirmed the positive testing of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, at three more sites, amongst them the country’s capital city. Along with the Ougadougou site, the disease was detected in Bobo Dioulasso, the country’s economic capital, situated some 400 kilometers to the west, and in Sabou, as stated in a press release by the animal resources minister, Tiemoko Konate. He spoke of results from the tests carried out by the World Health Organization, based on more than 100 samples taken a few weeks ago. Preventive measures were put into place, which include the infected places being isolated and all poultry linked to the sites being culled.

Posted in Burkina Faso