Authorities in Cameroon have erected sanitary barriers around poultry farms in Bafoussam following a bird flu outbreak.
This comes after farmers say a huge number of birds have died and they have been forced to cull thousands of chickens.
According to the Association of Chicken Sellers at the chicken market in Bafoussam, not less than 1,300 birds were sent to different regions in the country despite the outbreak.
Spokesperson of the Chicken Association Dieudonne Kepseu says he fears their chickens may be culled after livestock officials announced the outbreak of the bird flu.
Cameroon’s West Region Governor Jonas Temwa on Monday said tests conducted by the nation’s National Veterinary laboratory confirmed that the deaths recorded came as a result of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu.
The Governor stated that the Government immediately erected sanitary barriers and mobilised security operatives to ensure the buying and selling of birds on farms is stopped.
In mid-January, Burkina Faso announced a similar outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, for which over half a million chickens were killed by the flu or culled to contain the spread of the virus.
The last bird flu outbreak that occurred in Cameroon was in 2016, prompting the culling of about 45,000 birds across the country.