Bangladesh Govt. orders close surveillance to prevent spread of bird flu

Malaysia Sun (ANI) Sunday 25th March, 2007

Dhaka, Mar.25 : The interim government in Bangladesh has asked local administrations and livestock authorities to keep a close surveillance on poultry farms across the country and report to the control room immediately cases of unusual death of chickens to prevent the spread of bird flu, recently detected in Savar.

According to the Bangladesh daily New Age, deputy commissioners and livestock officers in the districts have been asked to intensify surveillance on poultry farms as a pre-emptive measure.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser to the government, Chowdhury S Karim, told reporters here on Saturday that the deadly H5N1 strain in chicks had been detected near Dhaka on Thursday, leading veterinary teams to cull over 36,000 birds in six farms located in Savar and Gazipur.

The government claimed that no other cases were detected from any parts of the country, asking the general people not to panic.

News reports also said that the army has been called in to tackle the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, the Council of Advisers to the interim government at its regular meeting presided over by the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, discussed the matter elaborately.

The meeting held at the chief adviser's office decided to compensate the poultry farm owners for culled chicks, said the spokesman for the chief adviser.

'The cabinet has decided to compensate the farm owners...the detection is still confined to a certain area and there is nothing to worry about,' Syed Fahim Munaim, the press secretary to the chief adviser, said while briefing newsmen after the meeting.

Officials at the livestock ministry said the teams had so far culled a total of 36,000 chicks, of which 27,108 chicks were destroyed from four farms in Savar and 8,892 from two farms in Gazipur following confirmation of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry samples.

The measures were taken to prevent further spread of the virus, the fisheries and livestock secretary, Syed Ataur Rahman, said.

Representatives from the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UNICEF were present at the press briefing.

The experts confirmed that meat and eggs were totally safe for consumption after proper cooking.

The secretary informed reporters that five teams had so far visited 810 poultry farms with more than 44 lakh of chicks located within 10 miles of Savar where virus strain was found in poultry samples.

After the detection of the strain, the government held a special cabinet meeting on Thursday instructing the authorities concerned to take appropriate pre-emptive measures in this regard.

There are at least 1,52,000 poultry farms across the country of which 52,000 are registered. (ANI with inputs)