Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Bird Flu: Namibia Shouldn’t Panic

Home Archived Bird Flu: Namibia Shouldn’t Panic

By Emma Kakololo WINDHOEK The Chief Veterinarian Officer at the Directorate of Veterinary Services Dr Otto Hubschle says it is too early for Namibia to panic following the discovery of the first case of the deadly bird flu in Africa in Nigeria. The first case of H5N1 bird flu, deadly to humans, was detected on a farm in Kaduna, northern Nigeria and according to media reports, the outbreak could have devastating consequences, as it is likely to be followed quickly by others. “Namibia is between 4 000 and 5 000 kilometres from Nigeria. Don’t get carried away with it, it’s too early,” said Hubschle. He was also quick to make an assurance that should it spread to Namibia, the country has worked out contingency plans. According to a BBC report, the virus could be quite widespread and that World Health Organisation (WHO) officials were investigating whether poultry in other states also died from the virus. The report quoted a top UN Official, David Nabarro of WHO, warning all African governments and ordinary people to take “very, very strong precautions” to protect themselves and stop the disease from spreading. “If it’s in Nigeria it might also be in other countries that are less well-equipped.” “We’ve got to have all countries, particularly in West Africa, being very vigilant for bird die-offs, which are the indicator of bird flu being in the population,” he was reported as saying. Hubschle said the case was a worse-case scenario on the continent because Nigeria has a high population density and the possibility of it spreading to other parts of Western African was greater due to extensive traffic between these countries. He said the problem becomes even greater with the passive transportation of potentially infected material by humans. “There is a lot of human movement between these countries but from there to Namibia is very limited.” As for Namibia, the spread could be through migratory birds which could be detected through a high mortality of birds. However, he noted that this did not mean that whenever a bird was found lying dead somewhere, it had died from the disease. “Its just to early to panic,” he stressed.