Pakistan: Threat of bird flu, sale of domestic hen banned in Muzaffarabad

[Sally Furniss]

Threat of bird flu, sale of domestic hen banned in Muzaffarabad

http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?174972

MUZAFFARABAD, April 12 (Online): Following the detection of bird flu in domestic hen, entry and sale of hen has been banned in Muzaffarabad, Capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). It is merit mentioning here that the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in dead domestic hen in Gojra, suburb area of Muzaffarabad the other day. Officers of Health and Livestock Department have started the process to cull the chickens in the area. Additional District Health Officers Dr Farooq Awan in a statement on Thursday said that steps are being taken to control it. Spray is being carried out to stop further spreading of the virus, he added. We are trying our best to control this disease right now any chicken which shows even the slightest sign of any sort of disease are being quarantined, he maintained. Additional DHO added that the places where chickens are slaughtered are being washed .

In wake of the fear of spreading Bird Flu, authorities concerned has imposed ban on sale of hen in Muzaffarabad. Meanwhile, according to the doctors, the virus is currently present in the hens not the Broilers and no bans to sell broilers has been imposed. Bird flu is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These flu viruses occur naturally among birds, they added. Bird flu scare would be high from April to August, doctors added. They advised people to kept their birds in cages

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Pakistan: Threat of bird flu, sale of domestic hen banned in Muzaffarabad

People run away from chickens
By Zar Nageen

KARACHI: The prices of chicken have fallen drastically as a result of the reemergence of the bird flu virus. People have started avoiding chicken meat resulting in a sharp price decline from Rs 150 last week to Rs 84 Monday. Last m onth, poultry associations announced that over 50,000 chickens fell victim to bird flu and therefore had to be culled. However, medical sources point out that there has been no official confirmation from the government regarding the proper burial of the birds. According to medical sources, bird flu has spread to Rawalpindi and Mansehra, where even chicken on private farms have fallen victim to the virus. Dr S.M. Ishfaq pointed out that in the past three years, over 200 people have died as a result of bird flu. ?There is no laboratory in Pakistan to test bird flu among humans,? he said. ?The government is not properly dealing with this situation. They must control this virus before it gets out of hand.? The symptoms of bird flu, among humans, are flu, body pains, sore throat, high fever, diarrhea, headaches and malaise.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\17\story_17-4-2007_pg12_6