Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY Feb/6/2008-Feb/28/2008

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Nat?l guideline to tackle,
prevent bird flu demanded
Staff Correspondent
The leaders of the Bangladesh Bird Flu Protirodh Nagorik Committee, on Sunday at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity, demanded immediate formulation of a national guideline to prevent avian influenza and the taking of measures according to the guideline.
They also demanded immediate beginning of the vaccination of the poultry and ducks immediately to prevent the spread of bird flu.
?It is not effective to prevent bird flu by culling chickens in areas near affected farms as the disease has been spreading like an epidemic, so the government has devise a new strategy immediately,? said Junayed Saki, a central member of the committee.
About 25 lakh people are involved in the poultry sector and if the government fails to take proper steps immediately, the small poultry farms will become extinct and multinational companies will grab the sector totally, he said.
Underscoring the need for mandatory vaccination of poultry, MM Khan, another central member of the committee, said that countries like Vietnam and China have made vaccination of poultry compulsory to prevent bird flu.
Countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Sudan are also using vaccines regularly, he added.
The government should lift the restriction on import of diagnostic kits, and laboratories must be set up, in both the public and private sectors, to diagnose the avian influenza in the early stages, he said.
Kazi Kamruzzaman, convener of the committee, demanded the immediate steps to build up awareness of bird flu in the public, stop the kitchen markets from selling live chickens, enforce the killing of poultry in special slaughter houses, impose restriction on entrance of sick chickens into the markets and increasing monitoring to ensure that the measures are being followed strictly.
They also demanded compensation to the affected poultry farmers as soon as possible.
:tiphat: http://www.newagebd.com/nat.html

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bird flu update? 95,000 more fowls culled in city farm




Staff Reporter

Livestock officials yesterday culled more 95,000 fowls at a poultry farm in the city after detection of avian influenza, virus of bird flu. Another 60,000 birds are underway to cull, said an official of the Livestock Department.

The dangerous H5N1 strain of the virus was found in chickens at a farm in a suburb of Dhaka, said Mohammad Salauddin Ahmed, Director of Administration of the Directorate of Livestock.

More than 100 health workers were ordered to kill the 150,000 chickens at the Omega Poultry Farm in the city, he said.

The culling of the fowls - infected or feared to be infected - at Omega Poultry Farm in North Badda started Saturday evening after livestock officials had detected the strain of fatal bird flu virus H5N1 among the birds.

"Two more pits are being dug at the site for burying the culled birds, chicken feeds and waste," said Saidur Rahman.

Ataur Rahman Nayan, a staff of Omega, said, "The firm authorities had informed the government office of the incidence of disease Saturday. There are some 1.5 lakh fowls in the farms."

He said that he was not aware of how the virus infected the fowls, despite all precautions taken by the farm to keep the disease at bay.

Meanwhile, Sunil Chandra Ghosh, Director General of the Livestock Department, said, "The authorities will take necessary steps to stop the spread of the disease from that farm. All chicken feed and waste generated at the farm have been also buried for the purpose."

Alees Ahmed Khan, owner of the farm, said that he lost about Tk 12 crore so far to the incidence of the disease.

"The Government is paying only Tk 60 for every culled fowl, which does not compensate for the huge losses at all," he said.

Bird flu has already spread to 42 districts out of 64 in the country since it was first detected in March last year. More than 600,000 birds have been slaughtered so far across the country. No cases of human infection have been reported, according to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

The Government recently tightened controls along its porous border with India, with authorities ordering officials to block all imports of poultry and eggs from that country.

Any widespread outbreak could be disastrous for Bangladesh because of its dense population and poultry and poorly equipped public health care system, said experts.

There are many poultry farms in overcrowded neighbourhoods across the country. Bangladesh's growing poultry industry is made up of about 150,000 farms and has an annual turnover of about $750 million (about Tk 525 crore). :tiphat: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/02/18/news0877.htm

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Compensation for farm owners stopped
Pranesh Sarkar
KOLKATA, Feb. 17: Worried over rampant trading of chickens in the bird flu affected blocks in the state, the state animal resources department has asked the authorities of all districts to stop the payment of compensation to the backyard poultry owners who are still involved in trading of chickens.
The state government had announced that all kind of poultry activity and trading of chickens would be banned in the bird flu affected 48 blocks and five municipalities for the next three months as per the international protocol while lifting state wide ban on transportation and trading of chickens on 12 February. The ban was imposed on 5 February.
However, the state animal resources department was in trouble after it received reports that trading of chickens started in the affected blocks as soon as the statewide ban was lifted. The state ARD minister, Mr Anisur Rahman, visited the affected districts to inquire whether all norms were being followed in the post culling operation period. He also received complaints that illegal chicken trading was in full swing in the affected blocks. Immediately after that the state animal resources department sent a directive saying the backyard poultry owners involved in trading of chickens should not get compensation.
Officials of the animal resources department said the step was initiated after it was realised that few backyard poultry owners who kept their chickens away from the rapid response teams during the culling operation were involved in this illegal trading of chickens. The backyard poultry owners are being held responsible because transportation of chickens have been banned in these blocks and that?s why chickens can not enter the blocks from outside.
Officials also said that in many areas compensation money has already been disbursed and in these areas names of errant backyard poultry owners could be omitted from the list according to which interim relief will be given. The minister said he has asked the district magistrates not to give compensation money to those who are still carrying out trading of chickens in the affected blocks. :tiphat: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?usrsess=1&clid=14

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bangladesh bird flu spreads, leaves half a million jobless

DHAKA (AFP) ? The spread of deadly bird flu in Bangladesh has forced the closure of 40 percent of the nation's poultry farms and left half a million poultry workers jobless, industry officials said on Monday.

Government authorities said the virus was still "under control", although it has spread to 43 out of the country's 64 districts, forcing authorities to slaughter some 800,000 birds.

"It's a natural disaster like cyclone or floods. The poor farmers who raise chickens in their backyards are particularly hard hit by the bird flu," said Abdul Baki, principal scientific officer of the livestock department.

"But we still think things are under control," Baki said, adding the government was launching a massive plan to compensate affected farmers.

Baki's comments came as the authorities struggled to slaughter another 160,000 birds in one of the largest farms in the capital Dhaka. Officials said it would take another day to complete the slaughter.

The outbreak at Omega farm showed the disease was out of control, industry officials said.

"Omega is one of the top farms which rigorously maintained international bio-safety regulations but it was not spared by the deadly flu," said M.M Khan, a senior official of the Bangladesh Poultry Association.

"The situation is so bad nobody is buying any poultry these days. They're panicking. The crows and migrant birds are spreading the flu everywhere, leaving authorities simply hopeless," Khan said.

Already some supermarkets in the capital have suspended poultry sales, he said,

The flu has forced closure of at least 40 percent of the country's estimated 150,000 commercial farms, leaving at least half a million people jobless, Khan said.

The government has repeatedly urged people not to be frightened and begun a major drive to assure people that eating cooked poultry poses no health dangers.

It is also giving farmers 1.50 dollars compensation for each chicken slaughtered because of the virus.

Bangladesh was first hit by bird flu in February 2007 but the disease became dormant. Officials said outbreak resurfaced in January when 20 new districts were hit. So far in February another 11 have been hit.

Bangladesh's poultry industry is one of the world's largest, producing 220 million chickens and 37 million ducks annually.

.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE class=lan18 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="97%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=hei22 vAlign=bottom height=25>Culling of 149,453 chickens completed in Bangladesh's capital
</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff height=4></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="50%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="97%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="48%">www.chinaview.cn

2008-02-18 20:25:05 </TD><TD class=hui12 align=middle width="26%"> </TD><TD class=hui12 align=middle width="12%">

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DHAKA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh health workers completed culling around 150,000 chickens at a poultry farm in capital Dhakaas the bird flu ravaged the country's growing poultry industry, said government officials on Monday.
The government took the decision to cull the largest ever number of chickens Friday night after detection of the bird flu virus in the Omega Poultry Farm Limited that had 165,000 chickens. 　
According to officials at the Bird Flu Control Room here, 149,453 chickens of the farm were culled during the three-day drive while the remaining 12,480 died after being affected by the H5N1 virus.
They said the culling started on Saturday evening and completed at about 10 a.m. Monday.
After the sudden death of some chickens at the poultry farm, its staff sent some samples of the dead chickens Wednesday to Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute for test where the presence of deadly H5N1 virus was detected on Thursday.
Later, on Friday night, the government issued orders for culling all the chickens of the farm.
An official at the Bird Flu Control Room told Xinhua Monday that the Livestock Department has so far culled more than 835,000 chickens, ducks and pigeons of 231 commercial farms and 40 household farms in 43 districts out of 64 districts since the virus broke out in March last year.
The government has provided 20 million taka (about 285,700 U.S. dollars) to the affected poultry farm owners as compensation. In the wake of spreading of the bird flu, panicked people in urban areas stopped eating chickens, ducks and eggs while most restaurants have taken chicks out of their menus. Prices of chicks and eggs have also come down heavily. According to a rough estimate, the bird flu caused a loss of 50billion taka (about 714 million dollars) to poultry industry. :tiphat: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/18/content_7625971.htm

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[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

​

[FONT=EJKLFC+TimesNewRoman,Bold,Times New Roman]Bird Flu1108 Bird Flu1108 [/FONT]​

[FONT=EJKLPI+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]Bird Flu Related Information up to 17 February, 2008 [/FONT]​

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]1. No. of Farms with confirmed H5 Virus 157 [/FONT]
[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]2. No. of Districts with Confirmed H5 Virus 43 [/FONT]
[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic](Upzilla-81, Metro Thana-12) [/FONT]​

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]( Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayangonj, Tangail, Jamalpur, Jessore, Noakhali, Gaibandha, [/FONT][FONT=EJKMAK+Verdana,Verdana]Magura, Rajbari, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jaipurhat, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Bagura, Feni, Pabna, Kurigram, Moulvibazar, Barisal, Rajshahi, Barguna, Natore, Patuakhali, Netrokona, Bhola, Khulna, Manikgonj, Gopalgonj, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Kustia, Jhinaidah, Norsingdhi, Bagerhat, Chittagong, Kishoregonj, Meherpur, Comilla, Shariatpur[/FONT][FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]) [/FONT]

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]3. No. of Culled Farms 271 [/FONT]​

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic](Dhaka-35 (Savar-26, Turagh-01, [/FONT][FONT=EJKMAK+Verdana,Verdana]Demra-01, Mirpur-03, Shabujbagh-01, Lalbagh-01, Nobabgonj-02[/FONT][FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]), Gazipur-09, Jamalpur-06, Narayangonj-16, Tangail-02, Jessore-11[/FONT][FONT=EJKMAK+Verdana,Verdana], Noakhali-02, Gaibandha-04, Magura-01, Rajbari-03, Nilphamari-12, Dinajpur-30, Rangpur-06, jaipurhat-04, Lalmonirhat-04, Thakurgaon-02, Naogaon-02, Bagura-02, Feni-08, Pabna-05, Kurigram-01, Moulvibazar-01, Barisal-02, Barguna-16, Rajshahi-03, Natore-01, Patuakhali-01, Netrokona-01, Bhola-08, Manikgonj-03, Mymensingh-03, Gopalgonj-01, Khulna-14, Sylhet-01, Jhinaidah-04, Kustia-01, Norsingdhi-21, Bagerhat-02, Chittagong-09, Kishoregonj-05, Meherpur-02, Comilla-06, Shariatpur-01[/FONT][FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]) [/FONT]

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]4. Culled on 17/02/2008 --- [/FONT]​

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]5. Culling up to 17/02/2008 6, 86, 357 [/FONT]

[FONT=EJKLOH+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]http://www.mofl.gov.bd/daily_birdflu_report.pdf[/FONT]

​

 

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bird Flu Related Information up to 18 February, 2008​

[FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]

1. No. of Farms with confirmed H5 Virus 159
2. No. of Districts with Confirmed H5 Virus 43
(Upazilla-82, Metro Thana-13)​

( Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayangonj, Tangail, Jamalpur, Jessore, Noakhali, Gaibandha, [/FONT][FONT=NMOAPK+Verdana,Verdana]Magura, Rajbari, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jaipurhat, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Bagura, Feni, Pabna, Kurigram, Moulvibazar, Barisal, Rajshahi, Barguna, Natore, Patuakhali, Netrokona, Bhola, Khulna, Manikgonj, Gopalgonj, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Kustia, Jhinaidah, Norsingdhi, Bagerhat, Chittagong, Kishoregonj, Meherpur, Comilla, Shariatpur[/FONT][FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic])

3. No. of Culled Farms 277​

[/FONT][FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic](Dhaka-36 (Savar-26, Turagh-01, [/FONT][FONT=NMOAPK+Verdana,Verdana]Demra-01, Mirpur-03, Shabujbagh-01, Lalbagh-01, Nobabgonj-02, Badda-01[/FONT][FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]), Gazipur-09, Jamalpur-06, Narayangonj-16, Tangail-02, Jessore-11[/FONT][FONT=NMOAPK+Verdana,Verdana], Noakhali-02, Gaibandha-04, Magura-01, Rajbari-04, Nilphamari-12, Dinajpur-30, Rangpur-06, jaipurhat-04, Lalmonirhat-04, Thakurgaon-02, Naogaon-02, Bagura-02, Feni-08, Pabna-05, Kurigram-01, Moulvibazar-01, Barisal-02, Barguna-16, Rajshahi-03, Natore-01, Patuakhali-01, Netrokona-01, Bhola-08, Manikgonj-03, Mymensingh-03, Gopalgonj-01, Khulna-14, Sylhet-01, Jhinaidah-04, Kustia-01, Narsingdhi-25, Bagerhat-02, Chittagong-09, Kishoregonj-05, Meherpur-02, Comilla-06, Shariatpur-01[/FONT][FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic])
[/FONT][FONT=NMOANG+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]

4. Culled on 18/02/2008 ---​

5. Culling up to 18/02/2008 8, 42, 518

http://www.mofl.gov.bd/daily_birdflu_report.pdf
[/FONT]

 

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02190802/H5N1_Bangladesh_Spread_Continue.html

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02190802/H5N1_Bangladesh_Spread_Continue.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml http://www.newsnow.co.uk/nn/Recombinomics

H5N1 Continues to Spread In Bangladesh

Recombinomics Commentary 12:43
February 19, 2008

The outbreak at Omega farm showed the disease was out of control, industry officials said.

"Omega is one of the top farms which rigorously maintained international bio-safety regulations but it was not spared by the deadly flu," said M.M Khan, a senior official of the Bangladesh Poultry Association.

"The situation is so bad nobody is buying any poultry these days. They're panicking. The crows and migrant birds are spreading the flu everywhere, leaving authorities simply hopeless," Khan said.

The above comments describe the continuing spread of H5N1 in Bangaldesh (see satelite maps here here here). In addition to the massive cull in Dhaka involving the Omega farm described above, new culls are announced daily. In the latest report, the number of culled farms has risen to 277. It was 97 on January 16. Thus, the number of farms has almost tripled in the last month over the number of farms culled in the first 10 months of the outbreak. The number of districts with confirmed H5N1 rose from 23 to 43 in the same period.

As noted above, wild birds also contribute to the spread, raising serious questions about the lack of reported outbreaks in neighboring countries, including regions in India other than West Bengal.


.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#3366cc border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=updatetime align=middle>Wednesday, February 20, 2008 06:48 AM GMT+06:00 </TD><TD class=volnum align=right width=100> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=60> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newspath></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newsdetails vAlign=top>

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Front Page​

​

Bird Flu Scare
Fish, beef, mutton on high demand

Staff Correspondent

Demand for fish, beef and mutton has shot up in the past week as consumers panicked by the spread of bird flu across the country are looking for alternatives to poultry and eggs.

The rising demands have apparently driven the prices of fish, beef and mutton upward, said retailers and restaurant owners.

"People are panicked. Many are including vegetables, beef and mutton in their meals in place of chicken and eggs," said Khandker Ruhul Amin, president of Bangladesh Hotel & Restaurant Owners' Association.

"Our suppliers are charging higher prices for beef and mutton due to the increase in demand," he said adding that suppliers are now charging an additional Tk 20 for each kilogram of beef or mutton.

The price of fish has also gone up, said Ruhul, also owner of Khandker Restaurant, adding that the overall sale of chicken at restaurants has fallen by over 50 percent.

However, people should not be panicked as much because no germ can survive in poultry or eggs when these are cooked or boiled properly -- as recommended by the government, he said.

For the last one month, Nadira Sultana Nadi, who works at an overseas education consultancy firm, did not place any chicken or egg on her family's dining table.

"We are eating fish and beef quite frequently now instead of chicken or egg. None of family members want to eat chicken now," she said.

Kamrul, a Hilsha retailer at Karwan Bazar, said the demand for fish has increased since early this month and the trend still continues. "The sales volume is higher over last month," he said

On an average, the price of a single Hilsha rose by about Tk 25, Kamrul said.

Emdad Hossain, a seller of imported Ruhi fish that is consumed widely, said the price of Ruhi has also gone up.

"The wholesalers have raised the prices. That's why we are charging higher prices," he added.

Abu Siddique, a butcher at Karwan Bazar, said on an average, he now sells around Tk 10,000 worth of mutton per day -- compared with Tk 7,000 a day earlier.

"My sales have gone up due to the higher demands resulted from the outbreak of bird flu. But the wholesalers are the ones cashing in on the rising demands by charging higher prices," he added.
</TD><TD vAlign=top align=right width=60><!--
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> :tiphat: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24158</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bird Flu Related Information up to 19 February, 2008​

[FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]

1. No. of Farms with confirmed H5 Virus 161
2. No. of Districts with Confirmed H5 Virus 43
(Upazilla-83, Metro Thana-13)​

( Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayangonj, Tangail, Jamalpur, Jessore, Noakhali, Gaibandha, [/FONT][FONT=INGKFD+Verdana,Verdana]Magura, Rajbari, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jaipurhat, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Bagura, Feni, Pabna, Kurigram, Moulvibazar, Barisal, Rajshahi, Barguna, Natore, Patuakhali, Netrokona, Bhola, Khulna, Manikgonj, Gopalgonj, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Kustia, Jhinaidah, Norsingdhi, Bagerhat, Chittagong, Kishoregonj, Meherpur, Comilla, Shariatpur[/FONT][FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic])

3. No. of Culled Farms 282​

[/FONT][FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic](Dhaka-36 (Savar-26, Turagh-01, [/FONT][FONT=INGKFD+Verdana,Verdana]Demra-01, Mirpur-03, Shabujbagh-01, Lalbagh-01, Nobabgonj-02, Badda-01[/FONT][FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]), Gazipur-09, Jamalpur-06, Narayangonj-21, Tangail-02, Jessore-11[/FONT][FONT=INGKFD+Verdana,Verdana], Noakhali-02, Gaibandha-04, Magura-01, Rajbari-04, Nilphamari-12, Dinajpur-30, Rangpur-06, jaipurhat-04, Lalmonirhat-04, Thakurgaon-02, Naogaon-02, Bagura-02, Feni-08, Pabna-05, Kurigram-01, Moulvibazar-01, Barisal-02, Barguna-16, Rajshahi-03, Natore-01, Patuakhali-01, Netrokona-01, Bhola-08, Manikgonj-03, Mymensingh-03, Gopalgonj-01, Khulna-14, Sylhet-01, Jhinaidah-04, Kustia-01, Narsingdhi-25, Bagerhat-02, Chittagong-09, Kishoregonj-05, Meherpur-02, Comilla-06, Shariatpur-01[/FONT][FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic])
[/FONT][FONT=INGKDA+CenturyGothic,Century Gothic]

4. Culled on 19/02/2008 ---​

5. Culling up to 19/02/2008 8, 49, 732

http://www.mofl.gov.bd/daily_birdflu_report.pdf
[/FONT]

 

[Snowy Owl]

Social Impact: Chickens, eggs off hospital menu in Bangladesh

Social Impact: Chickens, eggs off hospital menu in Bangladesh

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Published On: 2008-02-22​

Front Page​

Chickens, eggs off hospital menu
Sohel Parvez

Many private hospitals in the capital have stopped feeding their patients chicken and eggs amid growing fears over bird flu outbreak, although the health experts say there is no risk if these are cooked properly.

Square Hospital is one of the private hospitals that dropped the items from its menu while Apollo Hospital has left the choice to the patients whether they want to have the items or not.

Public hospitals, such as Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital, meanwhile, have kept the items on their menus.

Talking to The Daily Star, a number of health specialists dismissed any possibility of contracting the disease through consumption, if chicken and eggs are cooked at higher than 70 degrees Celsius temperature.

High temperature kills the deadly H5N1 virus and make the meat safe for human consumption, they added.

"It is absolutely safe to eat if you cook it above 70 degrees Celsius," Brig Gen Dr Md Abdus Shahid Khan, director of DMCH, said adding, "In fact, we are preparing it at over 100 degrees Celsius to ensure safety of the patients."

Prof Mohammad Tahir, vice chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, also echoed his view. "Besides, we do not have any established case of transmission of the virus to human beings so far. It's okay if we boil it properly," he added.

However, lack of awareness has led many private clinics to take out the protein item from their menus. The fears grew as the disease hit the poultry industry of the country with thousands of poultry culled across the country in recent times.

Growing concerns among consumers have already halved the consumption, putting the whole industry in grave peril as thousands of people have already become jobless and farms closed.

Talking to The Daily Star, Dr Md Muniruzzaman Bhuiyan, president of Bangladesh Private Clinic and Diagnostic Owners' Association, admitted that some of the clinics and hospitals have stopped providing eggs and chicken to the patients.

He, however, hoped that the clinics would put the items back on the menu soon after some awareness campaigns.

"People's awareness level has increased. If it is washed and boiled properly, the risk of avian influenza disappears," he said adding "We are fully aware of it now and those clinics and hospitals that had suspended the supply earlier should start providing the diet soon."

Director of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital Md Salim Shakur, also a professor at Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, observed that the people are unnecessarily frightened.

"We are providing the patients with chicken and eggs as we did earlier. If you boil it properly, there is no risk of catching the disease," he added.

The hospital gives chicken to its patients once or twice a week, Shakur said.

"We have stopped giving chicken and eggs to the patients due to bird flu. We are not taking any risk," Brig Gen (retd) John Gomes PSC, general manager of Square Hospital, said adding that the diet for their patients now includes various types of fish, soups and vegetables.

The patients are also given beef or mutton if they ask, he added.

"We haven't received any complaints from our patients. They are rather happy," Gomes said.

Giasuddin, general manager (Media) for Apollo Hospital in Dhaka said the hospital is providing alternative protein diet to its patients.

"It's the choice of the patients whether they want to have chicken and eggs, alternative protein foods, like fish, are also available."

If anyone wants to eat chicken, they can get it fully boiled, he added.
</td> <td align="right" valign="top" width="60"> <!--
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR -->
</td> </tr></tbody></table>
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24456

 

[Malcolm]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24565


Media urged to report carefully on bird flu

Bss, Dhaka

Speakers at a seminar yesterday called on the media to report carefully on bird flu so that vested groups cannot take business advantage of the crisis, which affected the poultry sector severely.

"Vested groups are active to inspire the media to create panic and influence the government to import costly vaccines in order to make brisk business in the name of controlling avian influenza," said Dr Muhammad Abdul Karim of Bangladesh Agriculture University.

He said local and international conspiracies have crippled the jute industry, which was once the number one export earner, and that the vested groups are still active to destroy the readymade garment sector, now the biggest export earner, along with the poultry sector that employs hundreds of rural poor and helps meet nutritional demand.

According to statistics, the poultry sector comprises an uncounted number of backyard and over 150,000 commercial farms and contributes 1.2 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP).

It has 220 million genetically-engineered chickens, 160 million local variety of chickens, 37 million ducks and seven million pigeons, food and agriculture organisation (FAO) and the poultry association sources said. Authorities have, so far, culled 6.5 million chickens, ducks and pigeons to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Agriculture Information Centre (AIC) organised the seminar titled 'Things that need to be done to face the challenges in the poultry sector' at the National Press Club in the city.

"Negative publicity about bird flu has already caused a major damage to the poultry sector that has incurred a loss of Tk 4,165 crore since the first outbreak of H5N1 in February last year," said Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam, director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI).

Placing a number of recommendations to protect the Tk 10,000 crore poultry industry, he said culling has been proved a successful control measure in Thailand and a combination of vaccine and culling together helped Indonesia to control bird flu. But in Bangladesh, he said, decisions have yet to be taken to follow the right path of bird flu control.

He suggested providing soft loans to the affected farmers with an interest rate of 2 or 3 percent to revitalise the sector. Cash incentives, he said, can also be an option to encourage farmers to resume their business.

Former vice chancellor of Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU) Prof Dr Abul Kalam Mohammad Amirul Huq said the media should think twice of greater socio-economic impacts before publishing any reports on bird flu.

He also proposed developing a one-stop information centre that would provide round-the-clock information on bird flu.

 

[Malcolm]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/02/23/news0239.htm


Sequel to bird flu outbreak: Nutritional crisis feared

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

Due to attack of bird flu, health and nutrition experts are now surmising a nutritional crisis as people of all income groups depend on poultry products to meet their required demand for protein, minerals and vitamins.

Prof Shah Mohammad Keramat Ali, Professor Clinical Nutrition Department of Nutrition and Food Science Institute of Dhaka University, said, "People of almost all income groups, including the poor, eat the poultry product egg, which is an important source of protein, essential vitamins and minerals and makes a significant contribution to a healthy diet." "They will be deprived of these cheap sources of protein, minerals and vitamins if the bird flu spread is not checked right now. It is really unfortunate for us that we as a poor nation might be the great loser of protein that we collect from eggs," said Prof Keramat.

The virus of bird flu easily spreads through affected fowls, their eggs, faeces, egg crates and even vehicles that are used to transport poultry products to markets. It can spread during slaughtering, plucking, processing and preparation of the poultry for cooking, according to the veterinary surgeons.

As part of the adverse effect of bird flu, it decreases the nutritional status of the country's poor people. Egg-protein is of high biological value as it contains all the essential amino acids needed by the human body, according to the nutritionists.

Prof Keramat said, "Eggs contain most of the recognised vitamins with the exception of vitamin C. It contains most of the minerals that the human body requires. In particular, eggs are an excellent source of iodine, required to produce the thyroid hormone and phosphorus, needed for bone health."

The egg provides significant amounts of zinc, important for wound healing and growth and fighting infection, selenium, an important antioxidant and calcium, which is needed for bone, growth of structure and nerve function.

Professor Nazmul Hasan, Director of Nutrition and Food Science Institute of Dhaka University, said, "In terms of nutritional status, Bangladesh is facing deficiency of protein, iron, minerals and vitamins. My work experience in community nutrition says that scores of people depend on low priced eggs and chickens."

Poor people also depend on chicken, as the price of beef and mutton is higher. They might face difficulties in getting this food that fulfils the demand of high proteins required for health, he said.

"At the moment, we have to take extreme precautions because the fast spreading virus may transmit to human beings. In the case of human infection, it is quite difficult to differentiate the avian flu from the regular seasonal flu. But there is a 90 per cent chance of full recovery if anti-viral medicine is applied within 48 hours of being infected with the H5N1 virus," said epidemiologists.

To prevent the bird flu, World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that meat be cooked thoroughly so all parts of the meat reach an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius as this temperature destroys the virus.

Prof Khurshid Jahan, Professor of Clinical Nutrition of Nutrition and Food Science Institute of Dhaka University, suggested eating pulse with rice and vegetable for a balanced diet required for healthy life.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#3366cc border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=updatetime align=middle>Sunday, February 24, 2008 01:41 AM GMT+06:00 </TD><TD class=volnum align=right width=100> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=60> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newspath></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newsdetails vAlign=top>

Click here for Printer Friendly Version
Point Counterpoint​

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Combating bird flu

Zulfiquer Ahmed Amin

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Photo: STAR​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>BANGLADESH'S poultry industry is one of the world's largest, producing 220 million chicken and 37 million ducks annually, while millions of households rely on poultry production for income and food. The industry was first hit by bird flu in February 2007, that mainly affected backyard chicken belonging to hapless poverty stricken people in the back country when bird flu wasn't high on Bangladesh's list of things to solve. It resurfaced in January 2008, affecting 271 farms in 78 upazilas in 43 districts till date. The industry is now confronted with its greatest challenge since large-scale poultry farming was first introduced in the 1980s, and, with an investment of about $1.457 billion, is on the verge of collapse following the outbreak of bird flu.

Worldwide, the mainstream practice is to cull the poultry population on detection of the disease. This practice has very adversely impacted poultry sectors in China, Thailand, and some other countries where large scale culling was carried out. The Food and Agricultural Organisation's (Fao) prescription of culling of all the fowls within a 1 mile radius of an infected farm can be an ideal preventive measure, which is economically viable for any European country where, for mile after mile around a farm, no human habitation and no other susceptible poultry farms exist.

Usually, a farming community in Bangladesh is developed in a village or a specific area, where farms are located next to each other because of dense population, and for supporting each other logistically. When a single farm, whatever its size, is infected, hundreds of surrounding farms need to be brought under surveillance, and concurrent culling of all the birds, including healthy ones, has to be undertaken.

In a country like Bangladesh, which is trying desperately to tone down the menace of poverty of its vast population, the Fao prescription to defend against bird flu has hurt us economically. Almost 5 million Bangladeshis are directly or indirectly affiliated to the poultry industry for their livelihood, with almost 1.5 lacs farms dispersed country wide adding some $833 million to the country's GDP. Added to that are another 7.5 million households maintaining small backyard coops that provide almost 70 percent of the country's annual chicken output.

The poultry industry has been registering 20 percent growth over the last few years -- the fastest growth rate for any industry in the country. With the present bird flu panic, and culling of 8,83,613 chicken and destruction of 11,02,669 eggs from 271 farms (The Daily Star, 22.2.08), this budding industry has plummeted, and has forced the closure of 40 percent of the nation's poultry farms, leaving thousands jobless. According to a rough estimate, bird flu has caused a loss of about $714 million to the poultry industry.

With Bangladesh having 50% infants stunted and undernourished (IFPRI, 2004), chicken and eggs getting off the menu out of panic and scarcity has increased the menace of undernourishment. The Fao prescription, with the resulting deepening poverty and malnutrition, is causing substantial harm to our economy and staking the health and lives of our already economically hard-pressed population.

Without gearing up many other preventive measures, adoption of the extreme option of culling the fowls is an unsustainable self-destructive approach. Cooking the chicken flesh at 600 C or above and boiling the eggs make them safe enough for consumption, but many are unaware of this reality and get panicky. It is incessantly being brought to our notice by the media that fowls are being handled by the sellers without gloves and face-masks, and dead birds are littered indiscriminately. This increases our vulnerability.

We have appallingly failed to educate our poultry farmers about bird flu, which is the fundamental need in the present context. We could not effectively propagate the simple message to all that life is more important than transient economic loss, or offer adequate incentive to farmers to go voluntarily to the appropriate authority with their sick poultry, to strengthen the ongoing preventive measure. That is why forced culling has become the key option.

In Bangladesh, chickens are traditionally bought live from the market and slaughtered at home -- and this presents a challenge. After the bird's throat is slit, it thrashes about and its blood splashes all over the courtyard. The blood is not washed away, nor are the remains properly disposed of. Instead, the bird is thrown away where wild birds may eat it. Home-grown chickens generally roam about the courtyard and defecate, with residents carrying the faeces into their homes on their bare feet. Amongst the very poorest people, residents and animals, including chickens, often share the same house -- and chicken faeces are either dumped in the backyard or spread over the kitchen garden as manure. These traditional practices are most dangerous, as they allow the bird flu virus to spread, but these issues remain mostly ignored in our set-mind approach.

In the wake of spreading of the bird flu, panicked people in urban areas have stopped eating chicken, ducks and eggs, while most restaurants and hospitals have taken chicken out of their menus.

Prices of chicks and eggs have also come down heavily. Unemployment and mounting poverty among Bangladeshis at the bottom of the economic ladder are daunting challenges in the fight against bird flu. In a flash, one of the world's most dynamic areas of poultry farming has been practically ruined, and the livelihoods of millions of poor families pushed to the brink. This has been caused not so much by bird flu as by the response to it.

Paradoxically, Fao is silent about the irreparable loss of diversity that the culling would entail, and about the alternatives that have been successfully employed in some countries. The message raised at the conference in Delhi by some within the Fao ranks, about the need to consider the social impacts of responses and the importance of "targeted" culls, was quickly forgotten. Not that such matters are high on the agenda of the international community anyway, judging from the disturbing inability to resolve international disputes over the sharing of virus samples and vaccines. The row that flared up in February 2007 over patenting issues -- between the powerful pharmaceutical interests, led by the US and the UK, and the poor countries most vulnerable to bird flu, led by Indonesia -- is yet to be resolved.

Any policy decision imposed from outside will be unfriendly to local interests. We cannot expect any outsider to plan for our best, taking into cognisance our limitations and strengths. A policy that does not consider local influencing factors can never help materialise the aspirations of our populace. For us, for all the above reasons, selective culling of fowls with highest bio-security measures and education is the most appropriate strategic option to fight against bird flu. We can do no better for the population when policy itself invites catastrophe and sufferings for the habitants.



Dr Zulfiquer Ahmed Amin is a physician and specialist in Public Health Administration and Health Economics.


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>:tiphat: </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24629

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#3366cc border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=updatetime align=middle>Sunday, February 24, 2008 01:44 AM GMT+06:00 </TD><TD class=volnum align=right width=100> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=60> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newspath></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newsdetails vAlign=top>

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26,000 more fowls culled in 4 districts

Star Report

A total of 26,159 fowls infected with avian influenza commonly known as bird flu were culled in Savar, Nilphamari, Barisal and Thakurgaon on Friday night and yesterday.

Around 17,000 chickens were annihilated at 10 poultry farms at Savar yesterday following the detection of deadly H5N1 virus in the farms, reported news agency UNB.

With the culling of the fresh ones, a total of 31,000 chickens were culled at Savar in the last two days, Livestock officials said.

After the detection of bird flu in 'Sheela Poultry Farm' at Rajashan, the Livestock officials decided to cull all the chickens of the 14 poultry farms located within the 1-km radius of the farm.

Following the decision, they said, 14,000 fowls of five poultry farms in the area were culled Friday while 15,600 of the rest nine farms yesterday.

Besides, about 1,400 fowls were culled at SS Agro Poultry Farm at Kamalapur village yesterday after the fresh detection of the deadly virus in the farm.

Meanwhile, at least 6,890 bird flu-infected fowls were culled in Nilphamari. Of those, 5,640 were culled at Sanmoy poultry farm while 997 at Alam Poultry farm. 14,347 eggs were also destroyed, reported our Nilphamari correspondent.

Besides, 113 chickens, 15 ducks and 45 pigeons belonged to 45 households were culled as those were infected with the deadly virus.

Sources said several fowls died within a few hours at Sanmoy Poultry farm and Alam Poulty farm in Kukha Para area.

The sample of dead chickens was first sent to a laboratory in Gaibandha and then it was sent to Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI).

Following the BLRI report which mentioned that the fowls were infected with bird flu, a team of livestock officials led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Khorshed Alam culled the fowls.

Upazila and district livestock officials culled about 1,000 fowls infected with avian influenza in Barisal on Friday night and yesterday, reported our Barisal correspondent.

Sources said the fowls were culled at different poultry farms and houses in a one-kilometre area stretching from Thana Council to Islam Para in the city after a test report confirmed that those were infected with bird flu.

BCC mayor Awlad Hossain Dilu, and Barisal metropolitan Police Commissioner Khan Sayed Hassan, among others, were present during the culling.

The sources said Tk 80 would be given to the owners as compensation for each culled fowl.

At least 1269 domestic fowls were culled at 132 houses at Sarbamongola village of Baliadangi upazila yesterday, reported our Thakurgaon correspondent.

Besides, 329 eggs were destroyed.

Deputy Director of Livestock Directorate Bimol Chandra said they collected samples of some dead domestic chickens from the house of Abul Kalam at Sarbamongola village a few days back and sent to the regional research centre in Joypurhat and BLRI at Savar.

They received the report on Friday evening which confirmed that the fowls were infected with avian influenza.

District and upazila livestock officials with the help of local administration culled the fowls.:tiphat:
</TD><TD vAlign=top align=right width=60><!--
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24676

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#3366cc border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=updatetime align=middle>Sunday, February 24, 2008 01:49 AM GMT+06:00 </TD><TD class=volnum align=right width=100> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=60> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newspath></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newsdetails vAlign=top>

http://www.thedailystar.net/pf_story.php?nid=24556​

Published On: 2008-02-23​

Front Page​

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Slaughtered sick chickens on sale at city markets

Shamim Ashraf

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Chickens about to die from diseases are hurriedly slaughtered and hung up for sale at city markets. Hoteliers are their main consumers. The photo was taken from Kaptan Bazar. Photo: STAR​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>A number of unscrupulous poultry sellers in city markets have been putting members of the public at risk of avian flu infection by selling slaughtered sick chickens at low prices.

Prime customers of these pre-slaughtered chickens are makeshift roadside diners, street vendors of cooked food and caterers who deliver food to offices or messes for the low-income group, said a few poultry traders seeking anonymity.

Although no case of human infection has so far been detected, the handling of sick birds without protective gear pose a great threat of spreading the deadly virus as the avian flu, commonly known as bird flu, spreads mostly through physical contact with the infected birds, said experts.

During a visit to Kaptanabazar poultry market a couple of days back in the morning, this correspondent came across a man who was leaving the market after buying two such pre-slaughtered chickens.

Refusing to identify himself, the man said he had bought each chicken for only Tk 30. Considering the regular price of at least Tk 60 apiece, he apparently bought the chickens at a bargain price.

Asked what he does with the chicken, the man without any facemask or gloves said he sells the chicken to "small traders, mostly those who sell boxed meals near the National Stadium and Motijheel commercial area."

"They [the poultry sellers at kitchen markets] slaughter a chicken when it starts dozing and hang it from a sutli [string] in their shops," he said.

The man hurriedly left when this correspondent asked him to show the seller who sold the pre-slaughtered chickens to him.

After entering the poultry market at Kaptanabazar, this correspondent did not find any seller who was wearing gloves or facemasks. None of them admitted selling the two chickens to the man either.

Noticing a photographer taking snap of a pre-slaughtered chicken at a shop in the market, a staff of the shop immediately took that off from there.

However, this correspondent noticed several dangling strings in most of the poultry outlets.

Ruhul Amin, a cleaner assigned by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), said, "When any chicken shows the symptom of dying, especially right after they are brought in to the markets, the traders slaughter them immediately and hang them in their outlets for sale."

Customers of these slaughtered chickens are "poor people, mostly women, who cater low-priced food to messes and food stalls by footpaths in the city," he added.

He also used to buy and sell the slaughtered chicken, but he stopped the business after his sales dropped due to the recent bird flu scare.

"We know these chickens do not have the disease, but ever since the bird flu scare gripped all, poor people like us are going through difficult times," said Ruhul claiming that the trade no longer kicks.

Contradicting Ruhul's claim, a grocer in front of the market said seeking anonymity that the trade of pre-slaughtered sick chicken mostly takes place in the morning.

Khokon, a poultry trader at the market, said the sale of pre-slaughtered chicken has dropped from 50 to 60 a day to 3 to 4 daily in recent times. He insisted that the chickens he sells are not sick and various city restaurants are his clients.

Kulsuma Begum, a boxed meal (Tk 20 each) seller at the eastern gate of the National Stadium, said, "You'll see pre-slaughtered chicken at Fakirerpul poultry market and the traders there would approach you to buy it. I won't buy those though they are cheap."

She also said she has heard that such pre-slaughtered chickens might cause a dangerous disease called bird flu.

Zakir Hossain, a cooked rice vendor in front of Shilpa Bank building, said he buys chickens from Jatrabari poultry market, "but not the pre-slaughtered ones".

"Some people like me definitely buy those," he added.

Sheikh Saidur Rahman, Dhaka district livestock officer, told The Daily Star, "Though it doesn't necessarily mean that the dozing chickens are infected with the bird flu virus, the chance is there. Besides, the sick chicken might have other diseases too."

"But if the sick birds have bird flu, a person coming in contact with those may get infected with it," he cautioned.

He said strict instructions have been issued to the poultry traders asking them to inform livestock or city corporation officials once any chicken is detected with sickness.

Dr Mosaddeque Hossain, chief veterinary officer at Central Veterinary Hospital, told this correspondent, "You see, when we visit the markets, everything seems okay. But after we leave, they [poultry traders] do whatever they please. It's very difficult to keep an eye on all the markets round the clock.":tiphat:
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=24556</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
:tiphat: Sand

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Around 100 crows found dead

By OUR CORRESPONDENT

Kolkata, Feb. 23: While the state animal husbandry department (AHD), claimed that the state has successfully controlled avian influenza, a sudden unexplained death of around 100 crows at Chetla in south Kolkata has sparked-off a bird flu scare in the city.

On Saturday, the residents of Chetla were shocked to see dead crows lying all around. While most of them were already dead, some died later.

"I saw the birds drooling and flapping their wings before collapsing," a local said. Soon crows started falling down from the trees. "We are suspecting some kind of neuro toxic agent which affected their nervous systems, causing death," chief municipal officer for health, Debdaipayan Chattopadhyay said.

Municipal officers have collected samples from the area which were sent to the Belgachia Institute of Veterinary Sciences for tests.

"Crows are carriers of bird flu but rarely die because of it. However, we might send the samples to Bhopal for confirmation," state animal resources development minister, Anisur Rehman said.

The state government is continuing with the culling operations in various parts of Murshidabad, like Beldanga and Shoktipur. After the culling and mopping up operations were over, the state has renewed efforts to cull chickens in many areas once again. :tiphat:

http://tinyurl.com/2r59uu
:tiphat: Aurora

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Experts detecting cause of epidemic : Observance of safety precautions key to containing bird flu


Syful Islam

Bangladeshi scientists so far could identify existence of H5 avian and H9 swine influenza virus in Bangladeshi chickens that have been culled fearing outbreak of bird flu in the country.

Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute and Central Disease Investigation Laboratory are working to identify the viruses that have affected Bangladesh's poultry sector and producing appropriate vaccine to protect the Tk 8,000 crore industry, sources said.Bangladesh has so far culled near about 7 lakh chickens as preventive measure against the spread of bird flu virus from one farm to another. Density of poultry farms in Bangladesh is higher than in other countries that forced culling of huge number of chickens, experts said.

Chief Veterinary Officer of the Central Veterinary Hospital Dr Mosaddique Hossain said a high-powered committee will be formed soon comprising local and foreign scientists to inquire into the cause of the outbreak.

He said there is a common thinking that avian influenza has come to Bangladesh through migratory birds. But the government is trying to identify the carriers of the virus through scientific studies. Dr Mosaddique said avian influenza spread through faeces, sneezing and eggs of chicken. There is no example that bird flu spreads through flesh of chicken. Eating of flesh and eggs through proper boiling is safe to eat.

He said appropriate safety measures by raising awareness among the poultry industry workers and owners can help save the sector from destruction. Common people are also in the same risks if they come in touch with the virus while handling poultry materials, he added.

The Chief Veterinary Officer said sellers of chicken and egg in the markets are also at high risk if they handle those without wearing aprons and hand gloves.

Dr Mosaddique laid emphasise on taking bio-safety measures in the farms and adjacent areas so that no bird can enter from outside. People should clean hands and shoes before entering farms.

"Unless people are aware of the virus and take appropriate safety measures, all the steps of the government will fall into ditch and yield no result," he said.

Poultry consumers should press the sellers to use masks and other virus preventive gadgets and help prevent the spread of bird flu, which is the responsibility of buyers, too, Dr Mosaddique said.:tiphat: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/02/24/news0308.htm

 

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

1,000 fowls culled in Barisal
United News of Bangladesh . Barisal
About 1,000 fowls affected by avian influenza were culled in the city Friday night.
Livestock officials said the affected chickens were collected from poultry farms owned Abdul Halim, Nuru Mallik, Milon Mia and others within one kilometer of Thana Council and Islam Para.
The measure was taken after samples of dead chickens tested in the laboratory in Dhaka found that those were affected by the bird flu. :tiphat: http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#16