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TOP STORIES January 30, 2004
Red alert on bird flu, govt extends poultry ban to US, Europe
Friday January 30 2004 00:30 IST
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday extended the ban on import of poultry products to cover US and Europe, none of which have reported cases so far. It had on Wednesday banned imports from nine countries which have reported cases of bird flu.
Surveillance has also been increased in border states; passengers of the Samjhauta Express from Pakistan will also be monitored. Health Minister Sushma Swaraj announced the ban after the first high-level coordination meeting of ministries of health and agriculture on Thursday. ``More attention is being paid to border states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, where a red alert has been declared,'' she told reporters after the meeting attended by Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh and representatives of WHO and FAO.
Swaraj said no case of bird flu has been reported in the country so far and state governments had been asked to report to the Centre on reports of mass death of chickens or poultry birds. ``The situation is fully under control,'' she said. The minister said the Saarc secretary general has suggested a meeting of agriculture and livestock ministries of member countries, India has offered to host such a meeting. Detailed guidelines have been issued to the states to be distributed to all the chief secretaries and veterinary universities to prevent an outbreak and check spread of the disease in case of one.
The government has also decided to declare a red alert to prevent spread of the disease. ``More checks are likely to be on the border states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, where a red alert has been declared,'' Swaraj said. The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Bareilly and all regional laboratories have been asked to test the samples in case of suspected bird flu deaths and also send the material to High Security Animal Disease Lab (HSADL) at Bhopal for confirmation.
The states have been asked to activate the State Animal Disease Emergency Committee to tackle the situation. Secretaries and directors of animal husbandry have issued guidelines and immediately report to the Centre.
Flu fears from Bangladesh
KOLKATA: Bird flu might have reached Bangladesh, putting West Bengal under pressure, sources at the Centre's medical research institute here. Sources at the School of Tropical Medicine said the Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi had received more than ``30 samples of suspected bird-flu cases for investigations from Bangladesh''.
A senior scientist at the institute said despite the claim of Bangladesh's Animal Resource Minister Anisur Rahaman on Wednesday that no cases have been reported in the country, the samples had been sent. ``We are not trying to press the panic button, but just saying `so far it's not detected in India' will not give us any escape route in case of an outbreak or doesn't stand as guarantee that it will not happen here,'' Deputy Director of the Virology Department of STM D.K. Neogi said. Nobody from the STM has been included in the five-member vigilance committee set up by the Animal Resources Department under the Union Government guideline.
GUIDELINES
* Stop entry of birds from outside immediately
* Regulate entry of people, material and vehicles from affected areas * Ensure proper disposal of killed birds and droppings by deep burial or incineration
* Stop exchange of material and personnel between farms in affected areas
* Adopt strict disinfection procedures including protective clothing, gloves, masks and caps while entering poultry pen
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