Niger reports severe bird flu among poultry, says WOAH

PARIS (Reuters) – Niger has reported the highly contagious H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, among poultry in a village in the south of the country, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday.

The outbreak in the south of the Tahoua region killed most of a 4,920-strong flock, with the remaining birds slaughtered, the WOAH said in a note, citing information from the Niger authorities.

The outbreak of the virus, the first in Niger since July 2021, occurred in poultry ordered from the Zinder region by a local non-governmental organisation, WOAH added.

Parts of Africa have been affected by an unprecedented global wave of bird flu infections in the past year, which has led to the death of more than 100 million birds in Europe and the United States alone.

(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)