The Hindu : National : U.S. offers help to check spread of bird flu

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Tuesday, Jan 29, 2008
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U.S. offers help to check spread of bird flu

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The United States has offered to provide technical assistance and equipment to check the spread of avian influenza, now afflicting poultry in West Bengal.

“Bird flu has affected as many as 13 out of the 19 West Bengal districts. Our previous experience is that it moves around very quickly. It would be a good idea to contain it as quickly as possible. It has not reached the point where humans have contracted the flu as that would be very dangerous. I hope it is nipped in the bud before that takes place,” Ambassador David Mulford told a news conference here on Monday.

“We are very concerned about the situation from the global standpoint,” he said.

While the Ambassador said the offer was made to both the Centre and the West Bengal government a few days ago, an embassy spokesperson said later in the day that assistance was offered to the Union Ministries of Health and Agriculture through the External Affairs Ministry on January 23.

The offer would include making available Tamiflu syrup for children from worldwide stocks; and technical support for human surveillance, diagnosis and preparedness, and for culling and personnel protection equipment for rapid response teams in West Bengal.

The U.S. and India had been working together on influenza surveillance, sharing information and reviewing experiences, the spokesman pointed out.

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