No symptoms of bird flu outside these two areas, says adviser
24 March, 2007

Over 21,000 chickens of six poultry farms in Savar and Gazipur have been culled since the detection of bird flu virus at state-run Biman Poultry Complex.

Out of 42,423 fowls found to have contracted the avian influenza so far, 12,297 have died and been buried.

The authorities concerned yesterday announced a flurry of measures so that the disease cannot spread to other areas. Those include banning transport of poultry products from the affected areas, restricting movements around the infected farms, checking health conditions of the people directly involved in poultry farming, and strengthening the surveillance activities.

According to the fisheries and livestock ministry, 32,000 chickens of Biman Poultry, 1,800 of Bibi Ayesha Farm, 1,000 of Rahman Poultry, 600 of Monir Hossain, 1,023 of Bhuiyan and 6,000 of Happy Poultry Farm were detected to have come down with H5N1 subtype of the virus.

As of yesterday, the livestock department officials have visited at least 692 farms across the country but found presence of the virus only at four farms in Savar and two in Gazipur.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser CS Karim and Health Adviser Major General (retired) Motiur Rahman at a press conference yesterday said the government has taken all steps necessary to deal with the situation.

They called on the people not to get panicked as no cases of human infection has been reported anywhere in South Asia.

Quoting experts, they said the poultry or eggs are safe if cooked properly. But the people handling the diseased birds should sanitise themselves well.

"Bangladesh is not the only country with bird flu-infected chickens. At least 60 other countries are facing the problem. There's no cause for panic but we all should work together to do away with the risk," said Health Adviser Motiur Rahman.

"There is no cases of bird flu except for Savar and a part of Gazipur," he added.

Though preparations have been underway for about last two years, the authorities took further measures to stop any potential pandemic, the health adviser noted.

Motiur said the Mohakhali Chest Hospital has been kept ready to face emergency situation while mock exercise simulating bird flu outbreak in humans is being held.

A good number of doctors have been trained to diagnose bird flu. They have been asked to refer patients to the specialised health facilities in the capital.

The agriculture, fisheries and livestock adviser said the ministry is going all out to contain the outbreak. It has decided to strengthen active disease surveillance.

"The government has prepared a national action plan to fight bird flu. We have mobilised necessary equipment, developed laboratories and trained concerned officials," Karim added.

He said the ministry has directed the district administrations to pursue extensive surveillance measures with assistance from the livestock department and joint forces.

"The poultry industry here has tremendous opportunity with a 50-60 percent annual growth. We all should come forward to help it sustain its robust growth," he observed.

Currently, the sector involves some $2 billion while domestic birds at farms and households are estimated to be around 20 crore. Some four lakh people are dependent on poultry farming, he added.

"No one should seek to cause fear in public mind. Both chickens and eggs are safe to eat if prepared properly. However, we all should remain watchful," said the agriculture adviser.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Dhaka, Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol, attended the briefing and said aggressive actions involving all stakeholders and massive public awareness could help the South Asian countries overcome the crisis.

"We are very concerned because this is a densely populated country," she added.

Disclaimer: All information shown here are from different sources. The SDNP is not responsible for any inaccuracy in them.