BIRD FLU

BIRD FLU has struck India. Nearly 40,000 chickens have died in farms in the Navapur tehsil of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district over the past week. The central goverment’s hi-tech High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal has confirmed that eight birds from Navapur were killed by the H5N1 strain of the bird flu.
Though no human cases have been reported, a team of scientists and doctors from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi and the National Institute of Immunology (NIV) in Pune is doing door-to-door surveys in Nandurbar to determine if anyone has been in close contact with the birds or has symptoms. Blood sam- ples of five people from the area have been sent to NIV and the results are expected by Monday.
Even as the Union cabinet secretary met the secretaries of the home, health, animal husbandry, environment and agriculture ministries to re view contingency plans to stop the virus from spreading, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar ordered action. Each of the estimated three lakh chickens in the 10 sq-km area where the virus was found will be exterminated. “There is no option,” Pawar said. “I have ordered them to cordon off a 10-km radius area and kill all the birds. The central and state governments will compensate farmers for their losses.” Uttam Khobragade, Maharashtra’s animal husbandry secretary, said nearly 40,000 chicken had died “over the past 7-10 days”, but the deaths had been put down to a viral infection called Ranikhet. District officials in Nandurbar were, however, putting a date to the beginning of the outbreak: February 8.
On alert MP seals borders with Maharashtra; ban on poultry entry 1,400 chickens dead in UP’s Etawah; bird flu Can we eat chicken/eggs? Yes. Cooking kills the avian influenza virus quickly (within seconds of reaching 70° C), making it safe How does it spread? Main risks: live birds; animal or birdcages; contaminated feed; footwear contaminated by faeces; clothing or vehicles that have recently been in contact with poultry farms Does killing poultry help? Yes. It prevents the virus leaving a contaminated poultry farm How can I protect myself? Use soap. The virus is sensitive to detergents and easier to destroy than other viruses. Soap kills the fat contained in the virus's outer layer that enters and infects living cells. But don’t just wash with water; the virus survives in it Source: FAO/WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION Outbreak H5N1 virus is highly contagious and lethal for birds, ¦ but in its current form, it does not infect humans Of the few viruses that have crossed the species barri¦ er to infect humans, H5N1 has caused several deaths WHO says it’s a matter of time before H5N1 mutates to ¦ infect and spread easily among humans At the moment, there is little or no immune protection ¦ Symptoms in humans range from flu-like fever, cough, ¦ sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneu monia, and severe respiratory diseases PEOPLE DEAD 169 cases 91 deaths 2003: 3 All in VIETNAM 2004: 32 12 THAILAND 20 VIETNAM 2005: 41 2 THAILAND 4 CAMBODIA 5 CHINA 11 INDONESIA 19 VIETNAM 2006: 15 1 IRAQ 3 CHINA 4 TURKEY 7 INDONESIA
BIRD FLU has struck India. Nearly 40,000 chickens have died in farms in the Navapur tehsil of Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district over the past week. The central gov- erment’s hi-tech High Security Animal Disease Labora- tory in Bhopal has confirmed that eight birds from Nava- pur were killed by the H5N1 strain of the bird flu. Though no human cases have been reported, a team of scientists and doctors from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi and the National Institute of Immunology (NIV) in Pune is doing door-to-door surveys in Nandurbar to determine if anyone has been in close contact with the birds or has symptoms. Blood sam- ples of five people from the area have been sent to NIV and the results are expected by Monday. Even as the Union cabinet secretary met the secretaries of the home, health, animal husbandry, environ- ment and agriculture ministries to re- view contingency plans to stop the virus from spreading, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar ordered action. Each of the estimated three lakh chickens in the 10 sq-km area where the virus was found will be exter- minated. “There is no option,” Pawar said. “I have or- dered them to cordon off a 10-km radius area and kill all the birds. The central and state governments will com- pensate farmers for their losses.” Uttam Khobragade, Maharashtra’s animal husbandry secretary, said nearly 40,000 chicken had died “over the past 7-10 days”, but the deaths had been put down to a vi- ral infection called Ranikhet. District officials in Nan- durbar were, however, putting a date to the beginning of the outbreak: February 8. On alert MP seals borders with Maharashtra; ban on poultry entry 1,400 chickens dead in UP’s Etawah; bird flu Can we eat chicken/eggs? Yes. Cooking kills the avian influenza virus quickly (within seconds of reaching 70° C), making it safe How does it spread? Main risks: live birds; animal or bird- cages; contaminated feed; footwear contaminated by faeces; clothing or vehicles that have recently been in contact with poultry farms Does killing poultry help? Yes. It prevents the virus leaving a contaminated poultry farm How can I protect myself? Use soap. The virus is sensitive to detergents and easier to destroy than other viruses. Soap kills the fat contained in the virus's outer layer that enters and infects living cells. But don’t just wash with water; the virus survives in it Source: FAO/WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION Outbreak H5N1 virus is highly contagious and lethal for birds, ¦ but in its current form, it does not infect humans Of the few viruses that have crossed the species barri- ¦ er to infect humans, H5N1 has caused several deaths WHO says it’s a matter of time before H5N1 mutates to ¦ infect and spread easily among humans At the moment, there is little or no immune protection ¦ Symptoms in humans range from flu-like fever, cough, ¦ sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneu- monia, and severe respiratory diseases PEOPLE DEAD 169 cases 91 deaths 2003: 3 All in VIETNAM 2004: 32 12 THAILAND 20 VIETNAM 2005: 41 2 THAILAND 4 CAMBODIA 5 CHINA 11 INDONESIA 19 VIETNAM 2006: 15 1 IRAQ 3 CHINA 4 TURKEY 7 INDONESIA