The College of Basic and Applied Sciences held its 6th Public Lecture on April 21, 2016 on the topic “Animal Agriculture and Public Health: The Case of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)”. The lecture was delivered by Dr. William Blankson Amanfu, a former Senior Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy and the Chairman of the Veterinary Council, Ghana. The guest speaker delved into the lecture following brief welcome and introductory remarks by the College Secretary, Mr. E. Baidoo and the Ag. Provost of the College, Prof. D. K. Asiedu.
Dr. Amanfu presented a global picture of meat trade and the serious challenges in meat production in Africa, specifically pork, beef and poultry which have resulted in major trade circumventing the continent. He provided a background into the amount of investment that has been made into poultry farming to accelerate the provision of protein sources for people. He proceeded to explain some of the challenges that have beset the industry which have subsequently made it difficult for return on investments to be realized. He indicated that the rise in zoonotic diseases, which he simply defined as infections naturally transmitted between humans and vertebrate animals, was a major problem. He further explained that zoonotic diseases arise as a result of the closeness of man with domestic animals which provide them with food, fibre and draught power and in turn receive feed and control of their reproductive power.
The speaker highlighted the fact that there are more than 800 zoonoses identified, ranging from bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal and prions. He touched briefly on the global burden of zoonoses, stating that, at least 75% of emerging pathogens can be linked to animal origins such as HIV, SARS, Ebola, Zika etc. He identified six key factors that contribute to the burden of zoonoses, such as rapidly expanding human population, encroachment of human activity into the wilderness, movement of wild animals into areas of human activity, increased contact between animals and humans, increased global movement of people and animals and climate change.
To better illustrate his point, he used the example of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)- a viral disease transmitted from poultry to man as a prototype to describe the occurrence, spread, control and the socio-economic impact of some of these zoonotic diseases. The choice of HPAI resonated well with the audience as Ghana is currently experiencing outbreaks in Tarkwa and Akuse.
The speaker reported that Ghana experienced her first HPAI outbreaks in October 2006-2007 and the disease was effectively controlled in the country and within the West Africa sub-region and remained so for several years due to good surveillance systems. However, in May 2015, the Accra Veterinary Laboratory/ Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research suspected the first HPAI case. This was confirmed in June 2015 by the Food and Agricultural Organization/ the World Organization for Animal Health reference Centre for HPAI in Padova, Italy. To date the cumulative outbreaks in Ghana that have occurred mainly in commercial broiler and layer operations are 41, with 33 cases reported in the Greater Accra, 2 in the Volta , 3 in Western, and 1 each in Ashanti, Eastern and Central.
In a comparison of the recent outbreaks to that of 2006/2007, Dr. Amanfu pointed out that this current outbreak affected exotic birds such as partridges, quails, guinea, fowls, geese, ducks, turkeys and pigeons in addition to domestic poultry. Dr. Amanfu showed a map of the Avian Influenza in West Africa with a significant number of reported cases in Nigeria and Burkina Faso, a small number in Ivory Coast and none in Togo and Benin. It is reported that the outbreak in Ghana started from the Ketu District in the Volta Region which raised the interesting question of how it skipped Togo and Benin.
Dr. Amanfu gave detailed descriptions of the disease supported by pictures and stated that the classic symptoms are severe cyanosis of the shanks, comb and wattle as well as conical enlargement and hemorrhage in intestines. He stated that the disease may appear suddenly in a flock and many birds may die either without signs or with minimal signs of depression, in appetence, ruffled feathers and fever. The audience was particularly interested in the symptoms as many of them including some poultry farmers had never had firsthand experience of the disease on their farms. He pointed out that the extent of the loss to the poultry industry during the outbreak in January 2016, was massive with reports indicating that 102,760 birds were susceptible to the disease out of which 26,434 of them died and 76, 326 birds of various species and ages were destroyed.
In response to the recent outbreaks, Dr. Amanfu explained that the Government of Ghana has approved an amount of 3.5 million Cedis to be paid as compensation for poultry destroyed. He further explained that the compensation amount which was calculated at 90% of the market value of the poultry destroyed is paid for four major reasons: it is a disease that has no transboundary control, it is a disease of public health significance, it is expected to help improve disease reporting and finally give farmers some headway to restart their businesses. He stated that in other countries such as Botswana, compensation is paid as 70% cash and 20% inputs, however, in Ghana it is paid as 100% cash.
The speaker attributed the recent emergence of HPAI in Ghana primarily to the gradual breakdown in surveillance systems over the past nine years and decline in the levels of biosecurity practiced on various farms as a result of un-sustained farmer education. He used the example of veterinary officers shuttling between farms during the onset of break outs as a major source of transmitting the disease and the disregard for appropriate protective gear. He also cited the inactivity of committees set up for the prevention and control of HPAI as a factor and indicated this was due mostly to financial constraints. He further stated that the major challenges they face in trying to control the disease is the lack of truthful reporting from the farmers.
The speaker emphasized the importance of strategically tackling the outbreak and used the opportunity to talk about some steps that have already been taken to address the issue. This included the establishment of a Joint National Technical Task Force comprising members from Ministry of Health, Food and Agricultural Organization, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Veterinary Science Directorate, National Disaster Management Organization and a number of other key stakeholders. The speaker highlighted that there is no doubt that the global outbreaks of HPAI in the early 2000 characterized by human mortality and severe economic repercussions, were the major contributory factors to the current collaboration between the Medical and Veterinary professions. He explained that an integrated value chain approach was necessary to manage the disease.
On the way forward, Dr. Amanfu strongly advocated for the maintenance of strict biosecurity, improvements in epidemiological capacity to trace outbreaks effectively for counter-epizootic measures, enhancing laboratory diagnostics for early detection and response and adoption of best practices. He also recommended depopulation of affected farms and thorough decontamination as well as improved personal hygiene and proper handling and cooking of poultry meat. He underscored the importance of training various stakeholders along the value chain such as live bird market operators, feed millers, drug sellers, poultry farmers and extension workers. He indicated that a significant amount of knowledge dissemination has been done through the National Association of Poultry Farmers and that remains the most reliable channel of communication.
The lecture generated a high level of discussion which was moderated by Prof. K.G Aning. Major issues that were discussed included the differentiation between slaughter and destruction of poultry, which the speaker addressed by stating that birds are slaughtered for human consumption but in cases of an outbreak, affected birds are destroyed to cease the spread. Concerns on the transmission of HAPI from poultry to fish through feed was discussed and highlighted as an avenue for further research, although it was stated that the heat generated through composting often destroyed any microorganism in the poultry dropping used as feed. He reported that there have been no deaths of poultry famers in Ghana that can be attributed to HAPI, although in Asia there have been some cases and one in Egypt. On the issue of Togo and Benin not showing any signs of outbreak, the speaker stated that it could be attributed to the lack of capacity to diagnose the disease.
In response to suggestions to develop a vaccine for HAPI, the speaker noted that due to the mutating nature of the virus it would be difficult to develop a vaccine for it. He also added that breeding HAPI resistant birds would take years and this is not guaranteed to be sustainable as multiple crossings could eventually remove the trait. Participants at the lecture series also recommended that discussions on HAPI should be intensified to create more awareness on the disease. Dr. Amanfu in his closing remarks commended CBAS for instituting the lecture as it was a good avenue to share real life issues with students and for researchers to have continuing education on emerging issues.
Prof. Asiedu expressed his gratitude to Dr. Amanfu for honouring the invitation and presented a citation to him for his meritorious and strong commitment to the development of Veterinary Medicine in Ghana and the rest of the World. The Lecture was hosted by the School of Veterinary Medicine–Legon.