Nigeria has again declared “No Vaccination Policy” for highly pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI virus, even as the country loses 3.4 million birds to flu.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar who made this declaration at a media conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital explained the procedures which the country used to arrived at the “No Vaccination Policy” to HPAI in the country.
The Vaccination versus No Vaccination options for Avian Influenza virus in Nigeria emerged following the resurgence of bird flu in 2014. Some poultry farmers and other stakeholders, who desperately wished to stop the cycle of the disease called for a reconsideration of the existing “No Vaccination Policy”
The call however resurfaced again for the same reason, and that propelled the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to set up a Ministerial Committee to look into vaccine options and make recommendations.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar said “After due consideration of scientific and socio-economic evidences available to the committee on merits and demerits of vaccination or no vaccination, best global practices as well as the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health, WOAH, the Committee recommends that the country should stick to the ‘No Vaccination’ policy for now. Though the Committee noted that the country might want to change her policy to vaccinate against HPAI in future, it recommends some activities to be carried out before considering the option of vaccination against HPAI as a policy for the country”
For the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria and Director, Federal Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Columba Teru-Vakuru, halting the continuous spread of the virus through effective control measures, mechanisms and strategies have proven to be a better approach and yielding sustainable results than embarking on vaccine production.
So far, Nigeria has witnessed 476 outbreaks with over 3 million birds lost.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
