Ghana‘s veterinary services director said on Saturday that over 6,000 birds perished of the highly virulent H5N1 avian flu, prompting the destruction of 4,500 chicks and restrictions on poultry travel.
According to veterinary director Patrick Abakeh, the birds came from seven farms in Ghana’s greater Accra, Central, and Volta regions, and poultry migration from those areas has been prohibited.
As a precaution, Ghana has halted poultry imports from Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Mauritania, and Senegal, according to Abakeh. Togo killed thousands of birds last month in reaction to its own H5N1 outbreak.
The infections are Ghana’s fourth avian flu outbreak since the year 2015.
