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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/State_moots_bird_flu_testing_lab/articleshow/3915381.cms
State moots bird flu testing lab
31 Dec 2008, 0534 hrs IST, Ashish Tripathi, TNN
LUCKNOW: Besides directing its agencies to step up the vigil in the wake of bird flu scare in West Bengal and Assam, the state government has
asked the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, to submit a proposal for establishing a high security laboratory for carrying out tests for the disease.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by agriculture production commissioner with the visiting IVRI scientists. The state government has shown its willingness to fund the lab, estimated to be around Rs 6 crore, having "security level 3" status as per the standards fixed by the World Health Organisation. At present, over 10,000 samples every year are sent to the labs in Pune and Bhopal for testing.
But with a lab in Bareilly, all the tests -- swap, fecal, serum and whole body -- would be available in the state, saving at least 5-6 days in getting results. Regular testing of samples collected from the birds, particularly poultry, is done to monitor bird flu virus, mostly found in the winter season, which can be prevented only through quick detection and culling of all poultry in the 3km radius of the place where the infection has been detected.
Rudra Pratap Singh, director, animal husbandry, told TOI that instructions have also been issued to step up the vigil apart from routine inspections and drills as well as mass awareness programme. While the forest department has been asked to keep watch on migratory birds in bird sanctuaries in the state, district level officers have been directed to check poultry coming in trains from other states, particularly from West Bengal and Assam via Gorakhpur and Varanasi.
Further, the irrigation department has been told to keep vigil on ponds while the health department will conduct regular drives. Mock drills are also being conducted at panchayat level to make villagers aware of the problem and to show them how culling is done. Special kits and outfits for people carrying out the drive to prevent the dreaded avian disease have also been provided. Meanwhile, the forest department has identified 15 water-bodies in the state to carry out tests on migratory birds.
The H5NI strain of bird flu causes influenza in birds, specially poultry. It was first detected in 1878 in Italy. In 1997, it was found that the virus can also pass onto humans. So far, 393 cases of bird flu in humans have been reported, of which 248 died, world over. The flu causes multiple organ failure and kills within few days. Vaccines are ineffective as H and N proteins in the virus can create 144 types of strains and its 8 segments can create 256 arrangements.
H5N1 strain, the most deadly form of the virus, has capability of passing over to humans. Scientists are worried that H5N1, if allowed to persist, may undergo change to acquire a type which can pass from human to human. Such a situation would pose a threat of pandemic. One gram of excreta of infected bird can cause infection to one million birds. Pigs also serve as the mixing vessel for the virus. This makes it more important for human to take precautions.
State moots bird flu testing lab
31 Dec 2008, 0534 hrs IST, Ashish Tripathi, TNN
LUCKNOW: Besides directing its agencies to step up the vigil in the wake of bird flu scare in West Bengal and Assam, the state government has
asked the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, to submit a proposal for establishing a high security laboratory for carrying out tests for the disease.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by agriculture production commissioner with the visiting IVRI scientists. The state government has shown its willingness to fund the lab, estimated to be around Rs 6 crore, having "security level 3" status as per the standards fixed by the World Health Organisation. At present, over 10,000 samples every year are sent to the labs in Pune and Bhopal for testing.
But with a lab in Bareilly, all the tests -- swap, fecal, serum and whole body -- would be available in the state, saving at least 5-6 days in getting results. Regular testing of samples collected from the birds, particularly poultry, is done to monitor bird flu virus, mostly found in the winter season, which can be prevented only through quick detection and culling of all poultry in the 3km radius of the place where the infection has been detected.
Rudra Pratap Singh, director, animal husbandry, told TOI that instructions have also been issued to step up the vigil apart from routine inspections and drills as well as mass awareness programme. While the forest department has been asked to keep watch on migratory birds in bird sanctuaries in the state, district level officers have been directed to check poultry coming in trains from other states, particularly from West Bengal and Assam via Gorakhpur and Varanasi.
Further, the irrigation department has been told to keep vigil on ponds while the health department will conduct regular drives. Mock drills are also being conducted at panchayat level to make villagers aware of the problem and to show them how culling is done. Special kits and outfits for people carrying out the drive to prevent the dreaded avian disease have also been provided. Meanwhile, the forest department has identified 15 water-bodies in the state to carry out tests on migratory birds.
The H5NI strain of bird flu causes influenza in birds, specially poultry. It was first detected in 1878 in Italy. In 1997, it was found that the virus can also pass onto humans. So far, 393 cases of bird flu in humans have been reported, of which 248 died, world over. The flu causes multiple organ failure and kills within few days. Vaccines are ineffective as H and N proteins in the virus can create 144 types of strains and its 8 segments can create 256 arrangements.
H5N1 strain, the most deadly form of the virus, has capability of passing over to humans. Scientists are worried that H5N1, if allowed to persist, may undergo change to acquire a type which can pass from human to human. Such a situation would pose a threat of pandemic. One gram of excreta of infected bird can cause infection to one million birds. Pigs also serve as the mixing vessel for the virus. This makes it more important for human to take precautions.