Ghana detects second outbreak of H5N1 in poultry

ACCRA, May 22 (Reuters) Ghana has detected a second outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus in the centre of the West African country, far from the first case detected three weeks ago, a veterinary official said today.

The outbreak occurred at a small poultry farm of fewer than 200 birds near the town of Sanyani in mid-western Ghana and was confirmed by tests at a laboratory in the coastal capital Accra.

''The birds have been destroyed and the place has been disinfected,'' Francis Ampratwum, principal veterinary officer at the veterinary services department in Accra, told Reuters.

He said the laboratory would send its results overseas for confirmation but was confident its diagnosis was correct.

On May 2, Ghana announced its first case of H5N1 had been discovered near the main port of Tema, some 20 km east of Accra.

Several countries in West Africa have detected outbreaks of the disease and the worst hit, Nigeria, reported sub-Saharan Africa's only confirmed human death from H5N1 early this year.

REUTERS KK PM0151