H5N1 virus detected in poultry farm near Islamabad

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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]H5N1 virus detected in poultry farm near Islamabad[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/6195.html


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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On Sunday, Pakistan's government confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in a poultry farm in Sihala near Islamabad.

“During the on-going surveillance for avian influenza, a suspect outbreak was reported at a small poultry farm in Sihala, some 25 km from Islamabad on April 14. Tests have confirmed the presence of H5N1 at a poultry farm in Sihala and we have culled some 3,500 chickens there,” said Dr Mohammad Afzal, Pakistan's livestock and animal husbandry commissioner. Earlier in February, the dreaded virus was found in two farms in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP).

According to Afzal, around 5 km area around the farm has been cordoned off and tests are being conducted in all the farms in the area to contain the outbreak. Four poultry farmers in the area have been confined to their homes and are being checked for bird flu, with their samples sent to the laboratory for tests, said Jalil Kamran, a spokesman for the National Institute of Health. “They have been asked to inform local health officials immediately if they feel temperature or flu,” he added.

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Authorities are keeping a close eye on other people living around the farms where the outbreak was detected. According to Pakistan's health workers, so far, no cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported. However, the agriculture ministry admitted it needs to beef up its surveillance system to effectively counter the problem, which is threatening human health worldwide.

“An effective system needs money, and that is what we don't have,” said Rana Ikhlaq, an agriculture ministry spokesman, adding that the country needs not less than US$15 million to make its testing and monitoring systems strong enough to satisfactorily track the virus in Pakistan.

On his part, Afzal urged poultry workers to adopt habits that can help ward off the threat of bird flu. “We urge all poultry farmers to increase the level of bio-security at their farms and immediately report any abnormal or high mortality to local veterinarian or district livestock and poultry development officer for immediate diagnosis,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Mohammad Aslam, a former member of the Pakistan Poultry Association, said the government should take strong steps to prevent the poultry industry in the country from breaking down. “If vaccines are available, bird flu can be eliminated from the country in five to six months. We cannot close our eyes to a danger that is lurking at our doors.

Bird flu is now a fact,” he said. Over 1.5 million people earn their livelihood from Pakistan's Rs 100-billion poultry industry. The country has around 25,000 poultry farms. Aslam, however, added that people should not shy away from eating chicken for fears of contracting the virus. “People should keep in mind that so far no case of human contact has been detected in Pakistan. It is safe to eat chickens keeping in view our cooking habits,” he said.

The H5N1 virus has so far infected 194 people throughout the globe, of which 109 have succumbed to bird flu. Medical experts worldwide fear that the virus might mutate into one that can be spread from one human to another, triggering off a pandemic.[/FONT]