The Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of food and Agriculture has been advised to conduct unannounced inspections at poultry farms in the wake of the outbreak of bird flu in the country.
The call, made by a Veterinary Medical Micro Virologist and Public Health Expert with the Department of Animal Science at the University of Cape Coast, Sir Knight Prof. Anthony Annan Prah comes in the wake of the bird flu being recorded in three of the 16 regions.
Almost 6,000 birds have died naturally and 4,500 have been killed as part of surveillance and disease-control management.
According to Sir Knight Prof. Annan Prah, the unannounced inspections could help prevent the widespread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza which has affected about 60,000 farm animals in three of the 16 regions of Ghana.
Though Prof. Annan Prah urged farmers to report any symptoms of the flu in their farms to the veterinary services, he mentioned that it is imperative for the veterinary services to also conduct unannounced inspections to help monitor the spread of the virus.
“All farms which produce commercially must lend themselves to unannounced veterinary inspection to see that they are doing the right thing or the veterinary services must institute unannounced inspection to see that farmers are doing the right thing to bring the right quality to the table of the consumer” he said.
He said that the Veterinary Services can do this by “strong legislation which can let them prosecute those who are not doing things properly”.
In an interview with ATL FM on Wednesday 21st July, Prof Annan noted that in Ghana there is no immunization schedule for bird flu so it becomes imperative that animal farms infected with the flu is destroyed to halt the spread.
He also explained that Ghanaians have a core responsibility to demand quality from farmers in the wake of the outbreak adding that “we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that food quality is essential to us.”
Source: Aba Aikins Appah/ATLFMNEWS
