One World, One Health, One Medicine: An Assessment of Intersectoral Collaboration in Avian Influenza Control in Lagos State

Introduction The livestock sector is vital to the socio-economic development of Nigeria; it contributes about 9-10% of agricultural GDP. Livestock represents an important source of high quality animal protein providing about 36.5 % of total protein intake of Nigerians (1). Lagos State, located in the south-western part of Nigeria, has the smallest landmass (3577 sq. km) and the highest human population density (2519.75 per sq. km) in the Country (2). The State has a poultry population of 2.5 million birds and the largest outlet for poultry products with 207 Live bird markets, 375 poultry farms and a large number of poultry products consumers (3). Avian influenza (“bird flu”) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. The infection is known to cross species barrier to infect humans (4). Between March 2006 and September 2007 Avian influenza (AI) outbreaks occurred in 99 poultry farms in Lagos State (3). The only human case of AI in Nigeria was detected at a health facility in Lagos in January 2007.