No Bird Flu virus in Ghana

Daily Graphic, Pg 47, Thursday, April 23/09

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah

PRELIMINARY research conducted by the Ghana Veterinary Service indicates that presently the virus that cause the highly pathogenic form of avian influenza (bird flu) are not present in the country.
For a final confirmation on the issue, the service has sent research samples from birds in the country to the International Samples Laboratory in Italy and is awaiting the outcome.
This came out at a media launch of the World Veterinary Day commemoration, which was organised by the Ghana Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA) in Accra yesterday.
World Veterinary Day, which is observed on the last Saturday of April each year, is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of veterinarians to society. The day was instigated by the World Veterinary Association in 2000 to be celebrated annually.
In his address, the President of the GVMA, Dr K. B. Darkwa, said there was the need for the authorities to accord veterinary practice the needed attention to enable practitioners to perform effectively, since the health of animals had serious effects on humans.
He said a typical example was the outbreak of the avian influenza in 62 countries, which had caused the death of about 140 million birds and 407 human infections and claimed 254 human lives as of March 20, 2009.
Dr Darkwa said veterinarians played a key role in all countries, since they diagnosed medical problems, dressed wounds, set broken bones, performed surgeries, prescribed and administered medicines and vaccinated animals against diseases. They also advise owners on the care and breeding of animals.
The GVMA President said that was the more reason why the association was calling for resuscitation of the veterinary services in Ghana to ensure effective and efficient animal health delivery as it used to be in the past.
To achieve that objective, Dr Darkwa said there was the need for the establishment of a Ghana Veterinary Authority to be attached to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) as a separate entity from the mainstream agriculture.
“With the creation of such an autonomous body, the veterinary service in Ghana will regain its enviable status in animal health delivery and then conform to international standards in legislation, structure and organisation as set by the World Organisation of Animals,” he pointed out.
He explained that in Ghana presently, veterinary services, which was an autonomous department with a clear and effective chain of command, with its own hierarchy and direct line of progression and performing creditably, had suffered a serious setback since 1997 when as a one the World Bank conditionalities, the sector was pushed into the Unified Agriculture Extension System.
Under the system, Dr Darkwa said veterinarians were forced to perform roles that they had no training, adding that “how can a veterinary surgeon who has undergone six years programme in veterinary medicine comparable to that of a medical officer or a dental surgeon be made to supervise corn and cassava production?”.
Oh his part, the Director of the Ghana Veterinary Service, Dr Enoch Mensah Koney, said in spite of the challenges confronting veterinarians in the country, they were doing their best under the circumstance.
He noted that there were structures at all the levels to ensure effective surveillance to ensure early detection of any disease outbreak for the necessary action to be taken.
As part of the celebration, there are plans for radio discussions on the topic: “Anthrax - A Public Health Menace”; a television panel discussion on: “Public Health Significance of Tuberculosis in Animals” as well as an outreach programme and a public lecture on various topics in the Ashanti Region to benefit farmers outside the Greater Accra Region.