In Nigeria, anecdotal reports of poultry disease with high mortality began in December 2005. H5N1 was first confirmed on February 8, 2006 among poultry from a commercial farm in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria. This was the first confirmation of the presence of H5N1 virus in Africa. Shortly after H5N1 infection in birds was confirmed in Nigeria, national and local authorities initiated culling of birds at farms with laboratory confirmed and probable out breaks of H5N. On January 17, 2007, Nigeria recorded the first human fatal case of avian influenza in a 22year old lady.