First Human Case Of Bird Flu In Lagos, Nigeria

ABUJA (AFP) - Nigeria reported its first human death from bird flu in the teeming commercial capital Lagos, almost one year after the disease first hit poultry in the north of the country.

The fatality was a 22-year-old woman who died on January 17 and became the first confirmed case of avian influenza in Nigeria in "tests conducted by Nigerian scientists using in-country laboratory facilities," an information ministry statement said.

The results of tests on samples from two other people who died after suffering flu-like symptoms have not so far been conclusive, a health ministry official said.

"We have evidence that three people have died, two from Lagos and one from Taraba State but we are confirming only one case from the laboratory test. The confirmed case is from Lagos," Abdullahi Nasidi, director of public health at the ministry, told AFP.

"We are expecting a report on the other two cases in two or three days' time," he added.

In the meantime, the government said it is stepping up surveillance efforts countrywide "with particular emphasis on monitoring human contacts with poultry populations to prevent animal-to-human and human-to-human infection".

Nigerian health officials earlier this week said they were testing 14 human samples for suspected bird flu and that they had sent samples to London and Rome for further testing.

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, a US Health Department agency) have received samples from the fatal case and contacts for independent assessment and confirmation," the statement said.

"The outcome of their investigations will be made available as soon as it is available" it added.

Health experts worry that human cases of bird flu in Nigeria will be difficult to contain given the poverty in which many people live in Africa's most populous nation and the rampant corruption that makes measures and bans difficult to enforce.

Transmission of the disease to humans from poultry has so far always been through contact with live birds suffering from the disease, health experts say, but there are fears that human-to-human transmission could occur if the virus mutates, which could have catastrophic consequences in urban areas.

Asked whether an outbreak of bird flu was more dangerous in Lagos than in a rural area, Peter Oyetayo, a Lagos-based veterinary doctor, said: "What counts is the proximity to places were chickens are reared."

Despite having one of the largest populations of any city in the world, Lagos has its fair share of chickens scratching around on street corners and in backyards.

Health experts say outbreaks in backyard flocks are associated with a heightened risk of human exposure and infection as the birds often mingle with wild fowl and sometimes enter the home.