Nigeria reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak

A “highly pathogenic” strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria – the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health said today.

Nigeria reported the outbreak in Jaji, a village in the northern Kaduna state, according to the organisation known by the acronym OIE.

OIE spokeswoman Maria Zampaglione said the outbreak was the first reported case of H5N1 in Africa.