The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : No traces of bird flu in State

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Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

No traces of bird flu in State

Staff Reporter

Training programme organised on avian influenza

Stress laid on safety measures
Efforts on to set up bio safety labs

– Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Assistant director of Veterinary Biological Research Institute Ch. Malleswari speaking at the workshop in Guntur on Tuesday.

GUNTUR: There have been no traces of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, in the State till now.

Tests conducted on serum samples of various birds at the High Security Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Bhopal have ruled out the outbreak of the disease, speakers at a training programme held here on Avian Influenza held for assistant veterinary assistant surgeons and assistant directors said on Tuesday.

The programme was sponsored by the Government of India and co-sponsored by the Southern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Veterinary Biological Research Institute, Hyderabad.

Master trainers and assistant directors V. Anuradha, Ch. Malleswari and Sai Leela explained about the various pre-emptive safety precautions to be taken in areas where the out break of bird flu was reported through power-point presentations.

Compensation

Addressing the gathering, master trainer V. Anuradha said that out of 348 cases reported world wide, 224 persons died. In India, cases of bird flu were reported in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, West Bengal and Tripura.

More than 1,080 villages across the country have been affected, 10.44 lakh birds were culled, 16.67 lakh eggs destroyed, 850 metric tonnes of feed material was destroyed and a compensation of Rs.3.06 crore was paid to the affected poultry farmers.

She said that safety measures included culling of all poultry birds infected with H5N1 within a radius of 5 k.m as quickly as possible and destruction of eggs and the poultry feed.

The culling operations should be ideally carried out by the Rapid Response Team, consisting of trained veterinary assistants equipped with safety gloves and masks.

The virus could be transmitted by direct contact with secretions of infected birds, contaminated food and water and clinically normal water fowl and sea birds.

Efforts were on to set up bio safety laboratories at Jalandhar, Kolkata and Bangalore, she added.

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