Following the outbreak of the avian inflenza virus in two poultry farming towns, the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) has placed a ban on the movement of poultry products from Boankra in the Ashanti Region and Nyame Bekyere in the Kwahu East District of the Eastern Region. 5,000 birds have been culled in Nyame Bekyere, and a similar number at Boankra. The public has been warned not to buy any poultry products offered for sale at exceedingly low prices.

Speaking to Efua Konyim Okai for The Poultry Site, Dr Kingsley Aryee, Acting Director of the VSD, said the Department is monitoring the industry nationwide, and will take appropriate steps to protect public health. He said, "the Department could not say anything or take any steps regarding the payment of compensation to farmers. That is the responsibility of government."

There have been problems with the payment of compensation to affected farmers. In May 2017 farmers threatened to put disease birds in any subsequent bird flu outbreaks on the market, because government had only paid 1 million cedis (approximately £158,000) out of 11 million cedis (£1,743,000) approved by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs as compensation for birds culled in the 2015 outbread. Reacting to that threat (in May 2017), Dr Kingsley Aryee said that the non-payment of compensation undermined the efforts of the Department to monitor and control disease outbreaks, because of non-cooperation from farmers.