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  • Pakistan - BF in ANIMALS/POULTRY - Feb 16th +

    Pakistan confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP

    Sat 16 Feb 2008, 12:11 GMT

    ISLAMABAD, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have detected an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in chickens in a part of the northwest where the country recently had its first human death from the virus, a government official said on Saturday.
    The new outbreak was found in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the official said.
    "Samples from a poultry farm sent to us from Abbottabad have tested positive for the virus," Food and Agriculture Ministry official Rafiq-ul-Usmani said, referring to a town in the province. "We have already started culling at the farm."
    Several outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in poultry and other birds have been found in NWFP and the capital, Islamabad, since it was first detected in Pakistan in early 2006.
    Pakistan confirmed its first human death from the virus in an area near Abbottabad in December.
    Authorities confirmed two outbreaks at separate poultry farms in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi, in the south, early this month. Health authorities tested 12 workers from the farms for the H5N1 virus, but all of them proved negative.
    The president of the Pakistan Poultry Association, Abdul Basit, said the outbreaks had badly hit the industry, which he estimated was worth 200 billion rupees (around $3.2 billion).
    "The industry employs about 1.5 million people and losses in February alone are close to 4 billion rupees."
    Some Pakistanis have stopped eating chicken but the bird flu outbreaks have not caused general public alarm. (Reporting by Augustine Anthony, editing by Tim Pearce)


  • #2
    Re: Pakistan confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP

    Previous Animals/Poultry thread for Pakistan:


    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

      Commentary

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

        http://www.onlinenews.com.pk%2Fdetai...%3Fid%3D124537
        --------------------------------------------------------------

        Special team constituted for control of bird flu
        ISLAMABAD: On the directives of Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Kamran Lashari, Senior Director Health Dr. Saeed Ahmed has constituted a special health team headed by Health Officer Dr. Khadija-ul-Kubra for the control of bird flu and creating awareness among the citizens in this respect.

        On Saturday, the team visited various sectors of Islamabad and organized special lecture for the traders belong to poultry industry. Addressing on the occasion, Health Officer Dr. Khadija-ul-Kubra directed traders to ensure cleanliness in their shops and not to sell rotten eggs and unhygienic chicken.

        She asked traders and concerned person to wear mask before culling chicken and staff working in poultry farms should be vaccinated properly. The team also installed banners and distributed pamphlets in different sectors and markets of capital city regarding precautionary measures of bird flu.

        The team also issued notice to 72 shopkeepers over hygienic condition. Spray was also carried out in different sectors and markets of Islamabad.
        Separate the wheat from the chaff

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

          Farmer,

          The link is broken

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

            Commentary

            H5N1 Confirmed in Northern Pakistan


            Recombinomics Commentary 13:47
            February 16, 2008

            Pakistani authorities have detected an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in chickens in a part of the northwest where the country recently had its first human death from the virus, a government official said on Saturday.
            The new outbreak was found in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the official said.

            "Samples from a poultry farm sent to us from Abbottabad have tested positive for the virus," Food and Agriculture Ministry official Rafiq-ul-Usmani said,

            The above comments describe the confirmation of H5N1 in Abbottabbad, the same location as the culling operation in late 2007 that led to one of the most sustained human-to-human transmission of H5N1 recorded to date.

            The confirmed positive (see satellite map here here here) is close to the suspect case in Peshawar and is addition to the confirmed H5N1 cases near Karachi and excessive poultry deaths in northern Pakistan. This outbreak raises serious questions about the lack of human cases in Pakistan, India, or Bangladesh, as well as the lack of H5N1 reports in Afghanistan or any district in India other than West Bengal.

            Sequences from the new isolates as well as transparency on H5N1 in the region would be useful.


            .
            "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

              Originally posted by Muscade View Post
              Farmer,

              The link is broken
              Correct link for post #4
              "In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man (or woman https://flutrackers.com/forum/core/i...ilies/wink.png), and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for it then costs nothing to be a patriot."- Mark TwainReason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. -Thomas Paine

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                MANSEHRA: 5,000 chickens culled in Mansehra



                <CENTER>By Our Correspondent</CENTER>
                MANSEHRA, Feb 17: At least 5,000 chickens have been culled at a poultry farm in the Malipur area after a report of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, confirmed presence of H5N1 virus.The district livestock officer of Mansehra Dr Ali Akber Khan told Dawn that after the confirmation of the H5N1 virus by the NIH laboratory, over 5,000 chickens were culled in the poultry farm.

                He said that the infected poultry farm had been sealed, while vaccine was being administered in other areas to check the spread of the bird flu virus.

                Responding to a question, Dr Akber said that fortunately no worker of the said poultry farm had been infected by the virus.

                Meanwhile, sources in the provincial health department told this correspondent that a team of the World Health Organisation, which was already monitoring the situation in Hazara region, had reached Mansehra to review the situation.

                MANSEHRA, Feb 17: At least 5,000 chickens have been culled at a poultry farm in the Malipur area after a report of...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                  Commentary

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                    Commentary

                    H5N1 Spread in Northern Pakistan?


                    Recombinomics Commentary 07:23
                    February 18, 2008

                    Meanwhile, sources in the provincial health department told this correspondent that a team of the World Health Organisation, which was already monitoring the situation in Hazara region, had reached Mansehra to review the situation.

                    The above comments on the confirmed H5N1 at a poultry farm in Manshera in Pakistan?s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) raises questions about recent spread of H5N1 in the region. The most recent OIE report filed by Pakistan describes two outbreaks near Karachi in the south earlier this month. The last report on H5N1 in the north was for an outbreak that began last November. At that time there were multiple poultry outbreaks in the area as well as human cases which tested positive in Pakistan. Sample degradation limited WHO confirmation to one fatal case.

                    However, media reports on the outbreaks near Karachi, raised questions about outbreaks in the north, including a suspect human case. Recent reports described H5N1 confirmed poultry, but associated locations include Abbottasbad, Manshera, and now Hazara. All of these locations are near each other in the NWFP (see satellite map here here here) and may be multiple descriptions of current and former outbreaks, but the presence of a WHO monitoring team in the area suggests the H5N1 infections extend beyond the one recently confirmed farm.


                    .
                    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: PAKISTAN - Foyers d'infection de grippe aviaire

                      Traduction automatique

                      KARACHI : craintes de grippe aviaire dans une ferme de Malir

                      Par Mukhtar Alam

                      KARACHI, f?v. 22 : Les rapports au sujet d'un nombre extraordinaire des d?c?s d'oiseau ? une ferme de volaille le long de la route nationale ont des craintes de nouveau suscit?es que le virus de grippe d'oiseau a pu s'?tre ?cart?es ? encore plus de fermes dans la ville.

                      Un bon nombre d'oiseaux de grilleur ont ?t? d?truits officiellement ? deux fermes de volaille dans Gadap en la premi?re semaine de janvier 2008, apr?s que confirmation qu'ils ont ?t? atteints de la contrainte avienne redout?e de la grippe (H5N1).

                      Pr?c?demment, il ?tait aux fermes situ?es plus pr?s de la route superbe pr?s de la plaza de p?age o? les d?c?s d'oiseau avaient ?t? rapport?es, alors que les derni?res d?c?s avaient lieu ? une ferme situ?e dans Dumlotee pr?s de Malir dans la ville de Gadap plus pr?s de la route nationale.

                      Le coordonnateur provincial sur AI dans les oiseaux, DR Aslam Jalali du d?partement de b?tail de Sindh, a dit vendredi que les r?dacteurs de surveillance avaient rassembl? des ?chantillons des oiseaux suspect?s de la souffrance de quelques maladies graves pour diff?rents essais en laboratoire, y compris un qui ont ?t? cens?s ?tre conduits au laboratoire national de r?f?rence sur les maladies de volaille.

                      R?pondant ? une question, il a dit qu'au laboratoire de Karachi du d?partement de b?tail de Sindh, quelques traces de la maladie de Newcastle avaient ?t? trouv?es dans les ?chantillons en question, qui, selon lui, ont ?t? pris d'une ferme de Dumlotee jeudi.

                      Citant les fermiers, il a dit que 700 ? 800 oiseaux de plus de cinq semaines ?taient morts ? la ferme pendant les 60 derni?res heures et avaient ?t? d?barass?s sans risque.

                      L'I ont v?rifi? avec le laboratoire d'Islamabad pour s'assurer que les ?chantillons tir?s de la ferme de Malir avaient ?t? re?us. Le r?sultat est probablement d? le lundi car samedi et dimanche est des vacances l?. il a dit.

                      Cependant, d'autres sources priv?es aux m?thodes d'essai d'?chantillon ont r?clam? qu'un certain virus fortement dangereux avait ramp? dans la ferme en question et c'est pourquoi pour l'examen minutieux s?rieux des ?chantillons avaient ?t? maintenant envoy?s au laboratoire national de r?f?rence. Autour 4.500 oiseaux de grilleur sont toujours en danger, la source suppl?mentaire.

                      Le contraire ? l'information re?ue par les fonctionnaires de b?tail, un certain t?moin oculaire a maintenu que les fonctionnaires et les fermiers de volaille n'?taient pas vigilants au sujet du d?veloppement jusqu'vendredi ? soir?e et en tant que tels, manipulation inexacte et le d?calage des oiseaux de la ferme en question ne pourrait pas ?tre out.It r?gn? a ?t? appris que des r?dacteurs de volaille et d'agriculture du gouvernement de zone de ville avaient ?t? ?galement alert? et requis de visiter la ferme samedi matin car elle pourrait se transformer en cas potentiel de l'infection de virus de AI.

                      Le directeur Poultry du gouvernement de Sindh, Ali Akbar Soomro, dit qu'il y avait de probabilit? que les r?sultats des ?chantillons d'oiseaux seraient re?us par samedi soir?e d'Islamabad.

                      En attendant, la sant? et les experts en mati?re de volaille a sugg?r? que les fermiers devraient assurer l'isolement des oiseaux ? la ferme suspect?e sur une base prioritaire. Seul vendredi, 400 oiseaux sont morts jusqu'? la soir?e, alors que les environnements ?taient pleins d'une odeur puante.

                      Une source dans les fermiers de volaille. L'association s'est confi?e pour na?tre que le dernier rapport de la manifestation pr?tendue et le nombre consid?rable des d?c?s d'oiseau devraient ?galement ?tre pris lors d'une r?union de l'association le samedi et des d?cisions seraient prises pour gagner la confiance des consommateurs et pour intensifier l'association.s pour poss?der le syst?me de surveillance sur la maladie.

                      ***************************

                      KARACHI: Bird flu fears hit Malir farm

                      By Mukhtar Alam

                      KARACHI, Feb 22: Reports about an extraordinary number of bird deaths at a poultry farm along the National Highway have once again sparked fears that the bird flu virus may have spread to some more farms in the city.

                      A good number of broiler birds were destroyed officially at two poultry farms in Gadap in the first week of January 2008, after confirmation that they were infected with the dreaded avian influenza (H5N1) strain.

                      Previously, it was at the farms located closer to the Super Highway near the Toll Plaza where bird deaths had been reported, while the latest deaths took place at a farm located in Dumlotee near Malir in Gadap Town closer to the National Highway.

                      The Provincial Coordinator on AI in birds, Dr Aslam Jalali of the Sindh Livestock Department, said on Friday that the surveillance staffers had collected samples from the birds suspected of suffering from some severe diseases for various laboratory tests, including one that was supposed to be conducted at the national reference laboratory on poultry diseases.

                      Replying to a question, he said that at the Karachi laboratory of the Sindh livestock department, some traces of the Newcastle disease had been found in the samples in question, which, according to him, were taken from a Dumlotee farm on Thursday.

                      Quoting the farmers, he said 700 to 800 birds of more than five weeks had died at the farm during the last 60 hours and had been disposed of safely.

                      ?I have checked with the Islamabad laboratory to make sure the samples drawn from the Malir farm had been received. The result is likely due on Monday as Saturday and Sunday are holidays there,? he said.

                      However, other sources privy to the sample testing procedures claimed that some highly dangerous virus had crept into the farm in question and that is why for serious scrutiny samples had now been sent to the national reference laboratory. Around 4,500 broiler birds are still at risk, the source added.

                      Contrary to information received by the livestock officials, some eyewitness maintained that poultry officials and farmers were not vigilant about the development till Friday evening and as such, improper handling and shifting of birds from the farm in question could not be ruled out.It was learnt that poultry and agriculture staffers of the city district government had also been alerted and had been required to visit the farm on Saturday morning as it could turn into a potential case of AI virus infection.

                      The Director Poultry of the Sindh Government, Ali Akbar Soomro, said that there was likelihood that the results of the birds? samples would be received by Saturday evening from Islamabad.

                      In the meantime, health and poultry experts have suggested that the farmers should ensure isolation of the birds at the suspected farm on a priority basis. On Friday alone, 400 birds died till the evening, while the surroundings were full of a stinking smell.

                      A source in the Poultry Farmers? Association confided to Dawn that the latest report of the purported outbreak and sizable number of bird deaths should also be taken up at a meeting of the association on Saturday and decisions would be reached to win the trust of consumers and to intensify the association?s own monitoring system on disease.

                      KARACHI, Feb 22: Reports about an extraordinary number of bird deaths at a poultry farm along the National Highway...

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                      • #12
                        Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                        <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="96%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#f4faff"><td class="small_txt" height="20">?Banned pesticides poisoning poultry feed?</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#efefef"></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="small_txt"> Saturday, February 23, 2008
                        By Shahid Husain

                        Karachi

                        Pesticides and insecticides banned in Europe and other developed countries are being freely used in Pakistan and are one of the major causes of poisoning poultry feed, Dr. A. A. Qureshi, professor of physiology at the University of Karachi and pathologist in charge, K & N Avian Disease Diagnostic & Research Institute told The News.

                        ?These pesticides and insecticides produce Afla toxins that make poultry feed poisonous,? he explained. The death of buffaloes in Landhi Cattle Colony recently too was caused by afla toxins, he added.

                        He said unlike developed countries where grain is stored in silos, Pakistan lacks proper harvesting, storage and transportation facilities for grain. This is instead kept in open, warm climatic conditions. Further, there is no quality control for such grains in the country.

                        ?The Pakistan Standards Institute (PSI) has evolved standards for poultry feed but unfortunately it has not become law as yet,? said Dr Qureshi.

                        The shortage of grains that are essential ingredients of poultry feed has also generated a crisis, agreed Abdul Maroof Siddiqui, a spokesman of Pakistan Poultry Association.

                        ?Wheat is an essential part of poultry feed, but since it has become a scarce commodity lately, the production of feed has suffered,? he said.

                        Poultry feed comprises grains such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum (55 to 60 percent), canola meal (12 percent), soybean meal (five to eight percent), rice polished (10 percent), guar meal (four to five percent), sunflower meal (four to five percent), limestone and di-calcium phosphate (three to four percent) besides millet (three to four percent) and fishmeal (three to four percent).

                        Proteins are like ?building blocks? for making animal and plant tissue. Animal bodies are very largely composed of protein. Whenever birds are growing, or producing eggs, they use a lot of protein. The beauty of nature is that the two major plant groups, the grains and the beans, complement each other beautifully in the amounts of different essential amino acids they supply. Together, grains and beans make ?complete protein.?

                        Protein is important for all animals. But for poultry, in producing eggs and growing to produce meat, the protein part of their feed regimen is crucial. Finding good quality, cheap protein is one of the challenges of raising and keeping chickens.

                        Pakistan has a high consumption of poultry feed. This can be gauged from the fact that as many as 6.95 million bags of poultry feed each containing 50 kg of feed are consumed in Punjab alone whereas the sale in megalopolis Karachi ranges between two to 2.5 million bags. The market value of these bags are Rs 6.94 billion in Punjab and Rs 1.26 billion in Karachi, according to Siddiqui.

                        Siddiqui said poultry industry had suffered a big blow because of what he called ?media hype? about bird flu and sales of chicken have dropped by 40 percent.

                        ?We are doing a jihad for providing cheap source of protein but the industry is registering a steep fall due to media hype about bird flu and increase in the cost of production of poultry feed,? he said.

                        ?This can be gauged from the fact that a 50kg bag of poultry feed was available for 974 rupees in 2007 but its cost has shot up to 1075 rupees in 2008. In fact, poultry industry today is incurring a substantial loss,? he said.

                        He said there were 150 poultry feed units in Pakistan, including 10 in Karachi but rejected the notion that use of dead fish in poultry feed was the cause of bird flu.

                        ?Fish is always dead when it is consumed by human beings or used in poultry feed. Small fish that is also called trash fish is used in manufacturing of poultry feed at boiling temperature. It is not injurious,? he said.

                        ?Every unit of poultry feed has its own laboratory and after it is manufactured, the commodity is also sent in other laboratories for cross checking,? he maintained.

                        ?The feed consumption in chickens is different in summer and winter,? he said. ?Consumption increases in summer and so does the sale of chicken because more people frequent restaurants in summer. Chicken is ready in six weeks in winter and seven weeks in summer.?


                        The News International - latest news and breaking news about Pakistan, world, sports, cricket, business, entertainment, weather, education, lifestyle; opinion &amp; blog | brings 24 x 7 updates


                        </td></tr></tbody></table>

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                        • #13
                          Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                          Commentary

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                          • #14
                            Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                            Commentary

                            Suspect H5N1 in Karachi Area


                            Recombinomics Commentary 14:00
                            February 23, 2008

                            Reports about an extraordinary number of bird deaths at a poultry farm along the National Highway have once again sparked fears that the bird flu virus may have spread to some more farms in the city.

                            Replying to a question, he said that at the Karachi laboratory of the Sindh livestock department, some traces of the Newcastle disease had been found in the samples in question, which, according to him, were taken from a Dumlotee farm on Thursday.

                            Quoting the farmers, he said 700 to 800 birds of more than five weeks had died at the farm during the last 60 hours and had been disposed of safely.

                            Replying to a question, he said that at the Karachi laboratory of the Sindh livestock department, some traces of the Newcastle disease had been found in the samples in question, which, according to him, were taken from a Dumlotee farm on Thursday.

                            Quoting the farmers, he said 700 to 800 birds of more than five weeks had died at the farm during the last 60 hours and had been disposed of safely.

                            The above comments strongly suggest H5N1 has re-emerged in the Karachi region (see map here here here). Although Newcastle Disease was mentioned in the earlier outbreaks, the birds were H5N1 positive. The above comments suggest the same situation may exist in the current outbreak.

                            The detection of Newcastle disease in areas that subsequently test positive for H5N1 has been reported previously. The reports were common in east Asia in 2003 and 2004 in Indonesia and China. More recently most countries in Europe and the Middle East which acknowledge H5N1 in early 2006 reported Newcastle Disease in late 2005.

                            The large number of dead birds and the H5N1 testing suggest H5N1 will once again be reported on farms in or near Kararchi.



                            .
                            "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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                            • #15
                              Re: Pakistan - BF in Animals/Poultry - confirms new bird flu outbreak in NWFP - Feb 16th +

                              KARACHI: Bird flu outbreak confirmed at third Karachi farm



                              <CENTER>By Mukhtar Alam</CENTER>
                              KARACHI, Feb 23: As test results confirmed the presence of the dreaded Avian Influenza (AI) virus in a Malir farm on Saturday evening ? the third outbreak in Karachi since Jan 1 ? government officials are reportedly sitting passive as poultry farmers claimed that around 4,500 birds, whose health status was earlier doubted, were killed in the small hours of Saturday at a Malir farm.

                              Sources privy to what is maintained as ?voluntary culling? said that developments at the farm were a major shift from the approved AI protocol.

                              The Sindh government Director Poultry, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that it was good that birds had been killed voluntarily as there were chances of the dreaded virus spreading. ?I was told in the evening from Islamabad that the samples sent there related to the suspected farm had been found positive for AI (H5N1).?

                              He said that though none of the Sindh government officials were present at the time of culling, he could say that it was all done as per established practice and workers also adopted preventive measures during the operation.

                              Interviews of officials in the livestock and health departments of the provincial government and poultry officials of the city district government revealed that till 6pm on Saturday, no one knew how the birds, which were largely believed to be infected with the dreaded AI virus, were killed and disposed of.

                              A spokesperson for the Pakistan Poultry Association, Maroof Siddiqui, maintained that the association convinced the owners of the Mashaallah Poultry Farm, located in the Dumlotee vicinity of Gadap Town, to destroy the leftover birds as a precautionary measure and not to wait for the Islamabad laboratory reports on AI.

                              Talking to Dawn at around 5.30pm, he said that he was not personally at the farm at the time of the culling of birds, but he had the information that about 4,500 birds had been slaughtered alone by the farm owner after midnight on Saturday; the birds were later dumped in a well in the farm?s limits. ?The government officials had also been informed about the development and were fulfilling the remaining protocol applicable in case of occurrence of AI in birds,? he said.

                              According to experts, the protocol calls for culling in and around the infected farm or area only after the presence of the H5N1 AI or bird flu virus is established. It also requires that birds are buried scientifically in a pit on the farm; later, the place should be disinfected, sprayed and sealed officially, in addition to declaring the place a ?no-go? area for some time so that the area is not only isolated but the necessary spray exercise is undertaken by the poultry staff concerned repeatedly and inspected for the resumption of farming.

                              A CDGK staffer, on the condition of anonymity, said that the staff concerned had officially not been informed about the complaint of the spread of any diseases and culling activities. ?Neither has any spray of medicines been carried out by us nor could any warning board be fixed by the staffers till 7pm,? he added, saying that nothing could be ascertained by that time about the time of the culling and number of birds destroyed and mechanism employed for the deaths and burial as city government staffers were not present at the site.

                              When contacted around 7pm, the District Officer Poultry, Asadullah Shah Bukhari, said that though he had contacted the farm owner repeatedly, he was unable to reach the site during the day.

                              In reply to another question, he said that almost all the officers concerned were attending a seminar on bird flu organised by the provincial livestock department for EDOs and others concerned from across the province and it was the director poultry of the Sindh government who broke the news about the culling during the seminar, maintaining that he and another senior official of the provincial department were present at the time of culling.

                              ?Technically, the CDGK?s poultry officers are supposed to act on behalf of the DCOs in case of diseases, including AI, and cull the birds in case they are declared AI infected,? he said.

                              Dr Ahmad Ali Memon, Medical Officer of a Sindh government hospital in Gadap, said that he had visited the difficult-to-reach poultry farm, located near the Malir River, around 7.30pm on Saturday and talked to a Mr Farrukh, who identified himself as the owner of the farm, and gathered from him that the culling of 2,600 birds was initiated around 9pm on Friday night and took a few hours to complete.

                              ?I have been told that they had used certain chemicals in plastic bags containing the birds, which had finally been thrown in an old well, which is now covered. In all, three persons were involved in the culling process, out of which only one, Mohammad Kamal, aged 22, was available for a medical examination,? he added, saying that the person was in good health and had been asked not to move in public and stay at the farm till further advice.

                              KARACHI, Feb 23: As test results confirmed the presence of the dreaded Avian Influenza (AI) virus in a Malir farm on...

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