The Nigerian poultry industry, comprising both commercial and rural poultry systems, experienced the first highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in 2006.

The results of an analysis of the spatial distribution of disease risk and its visual presentation through risk maps allow for the design of targeted and therefore more cost-effective animal disease surveillance strategies.

From 2006 to the present, 11 countries in Africa reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1: Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Cameroon.

Impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) can cause reverberations throughout the poultry marketing chain.

Since its emergence in Africa in 2006, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus of the H5N1 subtype has spread rapidly to poultry farms in several countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria (FAO 2006; OIE 2006

Small-scale poultry production is an integral part of livelihoods in Nigeria, contributing to households’ income, food and nutrition security, and gender equality (Kushi et al. 1998; Houndonougbo 2005; Obi et al. 2008).

Mapping the flow of information along the poultry value chain is crucial for the identification of the actors to whom highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) risks should be communicated.

Spatial analysis of the distribution of disease risk and its visual presentation through risk maps can be used to inform the design of animal disease surveillance resulting in more cost-effective strategies.

The objective of this background paper is to document available information on the poultry sector and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Nigeria.

In many developing countries, information regarding the occurrence of a disease outbreak must travel through a network of individuals and institutions before it reaches the central government.