# 2422
`Porous borders', `Grinding poverty', `Years of civil war' and a `Creaking Infrastructure' are all listed as impediments to the surveillance and eradication of the bird flu virus in this analysis by Alastair Sharp on Reuters this morning.
Nations such as Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Togo have all reported outbreaks in the past.
And while only one person has been reported to have died from the virus in that region, the truth is, testing for the virus is almost never done when someone dies.
In the one case we know about, a family member insisted on a private autopsy (and paid for it), and that is how the cause of death was discovered.
Part of the monies pledged to the fight against bird flu have gone for compensation to poultry farm owners who notify their governments quickly when their flocks show signs of bird flu.
Without compensation, many farmers would simply try to sell the birds quickly, to avoid a loss. Bird owners are only compensated for birds that die (or are culled) after notification.
More from Reuters.
W. Africa bird flu risks remain, despite early action
Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:42am EDTBy
Alastair Sharp - Analysis
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - West Africa, viewed as a potentially vulnerable bird flu hot spot, has moved quickly to reduce the risk of a widespread outbreak, but porous borders remain an obstacle to wiping out the virus.
Creaking infrastructure and grinding poverty that affects large swathes of the population also complicate efforts to contain the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed 245 people since 2003 in Asia, Africa and Europe.
West African governments have found it hard to control the movement of people and animals across borders -- necessary to contain the virus -- in a region where some countries are only now recovering from years of civil strife, officials say.
"The borders are porous and there are unapproved routes that people use without being seen. It is difficult," said Anna Nyamekye, Ghana's deputy minister for agriculture.
The bird flu virus, having earlier hit Asia, appeared to arrive in West Africa in 2006 and has been detected in a string of countries there including Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon and Ghana.
