The traders explained that the outbreak of the bird flu had negatively affected the activities of food vendors, cold store operators and consumers, reported GhanaWeb.

Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Juel Catering Services, Nana Esi Hoyles said that although the Ministry had allayed the fears of members of the public by assuring them that critical steps were being taken to contain the disease, there was no education campaign to educate them.

The CEO added that the lack of education on the outbreak of the disease had resulted in low sales of chicken, even though poultry products were still safe to consume.

Mrs Hoyles averred that the outbreaks would collapse businesses if the government does not put proper measures in place to contain the situation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has stated that the members of the public should cook the poultry products well before consumption.

It however added that there was a ban on the movement of poultry and poultry products until the authorities could be certain that the virus had been contained, after samples sent to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reference laboratory in Italy confirmed the outbreak of disease in the country.

Fiifi Kwetey, Minister of Food and Agriculture, while addressing the media in Accra after the disease was detected in four poultry farms in Accra and Tema said: “We do not know how much further it may have spread, but we do know the most effective way to fight the virus is through robust collaboration of the public and our veterinary services.

"The sooner they are notified of a potential instance of avian influenza the sooner they can respond, which gives the virus less of a chance to spread."