- Faeces could be dangerous to human health
Contrary to the belief that rearing of chicken could protect those involved in the poultry business against malaria, the Director of Veterinary Services in Ogun State, Dr. Dotun Sorunke, has warned that the birds’ faeces could be dangerous to human health.
Sorunke said that the odour from the faeces of chickens produced ammonia, which could negatively affect people’s health.
The director of veterinary services explained that the ammonia gas would be released from protein degradation when the faeces of chickens became degraded.
He spoke with our correspondent at the Ogun State Veterinary Hospital in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Sorunke, therefore, warned people who rear chickens and those living around poultry environment to be mindful of their health conditions as the ammonia gas released from the faeces of the chickens could pose serious hazards to their health.
He said, “Unfortunately, human beings can’t tolerate ammonia because it is noxious and it reacts to the environment to form toxic acidic chemicals that damage and attack iron and steel.
“If we have high concentration of ammonia here, we will quickly leave this place. So, it is not a way to fight mosquitoes.”
Rather, the veterinary services director identified sterilisation as the best way to combat mosquitoes in the country, lamenting that the Federal Government can’t make use of the method because, “we have not been spending heavily on research; this is a thing that requires a lot of money, a lot of dedication and a lot of interest and perseverance from the researchers.”
