Niger confirms bird flu outbreak

Niger has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus among poultry.

The disease, which continues to spread across the country, is gradually gaining foothold across West Africa.

The deaths were confirmed by the World Organisation for Animal Health on Friday.

The outbreak has killed some 86,000 poultry birds so far, and started in late February across the region, following a previous deadly outbreak.

Last week Cameroon reported an outbreak of the H5N1 virus, with authorities saying they’ve banned the transportation of poultry after over 1,500 birds died at a farm in Bayangam.

The series of outbreaks in the region has raised fears of transmission to humans, given its history.