Bird flu watch mounts, US moves to help

Dhaka, Jan 28 (bdprem.com) – Livestock and veterinary officials Monday tightened vigilance to check the spread of bird flu virus in some of the worst-hit districts bordering India amid an international response to the government's effort to fight the virus. Authorities also continued to cull chickens across the country as soon as they track down any new find. Your Ad Here The local authorities have moved to consult with farm owners and workers, informing them about the dangers of the spread of virus and protective measures. According to the latest bulletin by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the H5N1 strain of virus has spread to 29 districts. Districts that border the Indian state of West Bengal have been put on the highest alert. In the northern district of Thakurgaon, all immigration points along the border with India have been sealed off to check any intrusion of smuggled poultry products from India. Livestock official Rafikul Islam said they requested the police to tighten watch. The district's livestock official Dr Bimal Chandra Das said private sector efforts were underway to spread information about the virus. Private firm Kazi Farms has given antiviral sprayers to poultry farmers, he said. The police have set up at least six checkpoints in Thakurgaon to prevent the movement of poultry birds and products in and out of the district. The officials said similar steps have been taken in neighbouring Panchagarh district although there was no report of the avian influenza virus. In Dinajpur district, a mobile court seized some 2,500 chickens from two Dhaka-bound buses late Sunday and culled them. The chickens were being taken from Thakurgaon, local police chief Belal Uddin said. The Bangladesh Rifles in Chapainawabganj district have tightened vigilance along an 87-kilometre border with Indian districts of Murshidabad and Mal Dah. BDR-39 battalion operation officer Captain Syed Abul Hasan said they have tightened their vigilance along the border as the two Indian districts are the hard-hit by the virus. In Sona Masjid land port, livestock officials are spraying antiviral medicines as soon as any truck with goods arrives in Bangladesh from India. Meanwhile, the United States has donated 10,000 sets of personal safety equipment against bird flu, a statement of the US Embassy said Monday. The Department of Livestock under the fisheries and livestock ministry received the equipment from the US embassy officials Sunday. Each of the set consists of coveralls, shoe covers, a respirator, goggles, an apron, and inner and outer gloves, the statement said. The equipment will be given to the government's livestock officials responsible for culling flocks and collecting samples of H5N1 virus, it said. "PPEs are critical in protecting Government livestock officers and reducing possibilities of contamination as experts cull flocks, collect samples for verification of the H5N1 virus, and bury the infected poultry," the statement said. The US mission in Dhaka has worked closely with partners and the government in prevention and control of avian influenza over the past year. The US has given supports such as training of the officials on testing and disposal of infected poultry. Prior to this shipment of the latest equipment, the US had supplied other 6,500 preventive kits, 20 decontamination kits, and 4,000 rapid antigen kits to the livestock ministry, it said. "The American Mission will continue to collaborate on avian influenza initiatives as well as to provide ongoing support for the reconstruction efforts after Cyclone Sidr," it said. The bird flu was reported first in February last year at a state-owned farm near Dhaka, and since then some 340,000 poultry birds have been culled, according to the livestock ministry. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said last week that the country needs "house-to-house surveillance" to fight the spread of the virus, which is posing a danger to public health. The government had earlier banned imports of poultry birds, eggs and other poultry products from many countries including India. Veterinary staff in eastern India are capturing chickens in night-time raids on the backyards of homes to surprise villagers unwilling to part with their poultry as an outbreak of bird flu spread. Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal's 19 districts, with samples of dead chickens testing positive in two new districts, officials said on Monday. Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic, but there have been no reported human infections in India yet.