The Director of Public Health Veterinary Services has shared some specifics one must pay attention to in identifying unhealthy poultry following another Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza disease outbreak, aka Bird flu.

Dr Bashiru Boi Kikimoto said, “If you observe certain deaths of birds and you look at some of the symptoms, like the looks at the head, [look out for] swelling head, you look at the wattles, you look at the comb, and they are all swelling, they become synodic like bluish in colour, and they die instantly."

Through its Veterinary Services Directorate, in a statement on Saturday, the Food and Agriculture Ministry confirmed that the Greater Accra, Central and Volta Regions have recorded cases in the country.

According to the statement, the disease outbreak follows the detection of similar cases in neighbouring countries since January 2021.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Dr Bashiru Boi Kikimoto indicated that poultry with “highly pathogenic influencers” are mostly weak and “they will even be dying in front of you.”

However, he said, “you won’t see the very classical image with the low pathogenic ones; they may just come in a form like a Newcastle one-off.”

Encouraging the public to remain calm, Dr Boi Kikimoto said he is optimistic that “things will be under control soon with certain measures in place.”

“We are putting a lot of epidemically and laboratory investigative mechanisms in place, and we are fighting to make sure that the spread is limited to only those areas that is it currently happening. So you can be rest assured that it may not reach your table soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has suspended the importation of poultry and poultry products from neighbouring countries where the prevalence of the disease has been confirmed.

The citizenry is also encouraged to be vigilant as attaining success "hinges on the full cooperation of the general public.”

To further ensure the safety of the citizens, the Ministry also advised that people avoid handling dead birds with bare hands at all cost.

It further encouraged that any unusual death of domestic poultry and wild birds be reported to the nearest Veterinary office and public authorities.