The Hindu : National : Help from any country welcome, says West Bengal

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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
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Help from any country welcome, says West Bengal

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: West Bengal is open to offers from any country to provide technical know-how and vaccines that could bolster measures to contain the avian flu outbreak that has hit 13 districts.

“Any such offer, whether from the United States of America or any other country, is welcome but the decision lies with the Centre,” Minister for Animal Resources Development Anisur Rahaman told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

U.S. Ambassador David Mulford said in New Delhi on Monday that his country had offered to provide technical assistance and equipment to check the spread of the disease.

There was no report of any new district being hit. A report of some birds dying in a pocket of North 24 Parganas — one of the districts not affected by the disease — was being looked into, the Minister said. If the mortality rate was found to be unusual, poultry birds found within a radius of five km would be culled.

The government was not considering imposing strictures on the sale of chicken and poultry products in the city’s markets, though there was a week-long ban as a “precautionary measure” in the Bidhannagar municipality. The Salt Lake area lies within the jurisdiction of this civic body.

Mr Rahman said the source of the virus could be Bangladesh, “though it is for the Centre to ascertain the facts.” He pointed out that many of the affected districts were located close to the Bangladesh border. “About 15 countries have reported an outbreak of avian flu and Bangladesh appears to be the worst affected,” he said.

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