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

[Treyfish]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

<TABLE class=RedTableBorder style="HEIGHT: 483px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px" vAlign=top><TD class=articalTitle align=middle>Caution urged on bird flu reporting <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=430 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=dates id=hDate height=27>Published: Sunday, 24 February, 2008, 01:25 AM Doha Time</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 12px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px"><TD class=articalBody id=artical1 vAlign=top height=345>Our Correspondent
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s leading experts have urged the media to report carefully on bird flu so that interested groups could not take advantage out of the crisis that has hit the country’s embattled poultry sector.
“Vested groups are active to prod the media to create a panicky situation and influence the government to import costly vaccines for making brisk business in the name of controlling avian influenza,??* Dr Muhammed Abdul Karim, an expert working with Bangladesh Agriculture University told a seminar on Friday.
The poultry sector has reportedly lost 40% business since the bird flu breakout last year.
The poultry sector would face the similar fate as the jute industry years ago, which once was the number one export earner, Karim warned.
He said vested groups are also active to damage the readymade garment sector, now the biggest export earner, along with the poultry sector that employs hundreds of thousands of rural poor and meets cheap nutritional demand.
According to statistics, Bangladesh’s poultry sector comprises an uncounted number of backyard and over 150,000 commercial farms and contributes 1.2% to the gross domestic product (GDP).
It has 220m genetically-engineered chickens, 160mn local variety of chickens, 37mn ducks and 7mn pigeons, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Poultry Association sources said.
Authorities so far culled 6.5mn chickens, ducks and pigeons due to bird flu.
The Agriculture Information Centre organised the seminar titled “Things that need to be done to face poultry sector challenges??* at the National Press Club.
“Negative publicity about bird flu has already caused a major damage to poultry sector that has experienced a net loss of 41,650mn taka since the first outbreak of H5N1 in February last year,??* Director General of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Dr Mohammed Jahangir Alam said.
Alam, who put forward a number of recommendations to protect the 100bn taka poultry industry, said culling has 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 the government to direct banks for providing soft loan to the affected farmers at 2-3% of interest rate to revive the sector.
Cash incentives, he said, can also be an option to encourage farmers to resume the business.
Former vice-chancellor of Bangladesh Agriculture University Prof Abul Kalam Mohammed Amirul Huq said the media should think twice about greater socio-economic impacts before publishing any report on bird flu.
He proposed for developing a one-stop information centre that would provide round-the-clock information on bird flu.
A microbiologist of Sylhet Agriculture University suggested setting up modern slaughterhouses, where unaffected chickens would be slaughtered to minimise losses.
Dr Abdul Mannan of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said the poultry farmers are already overburdened with their losses and it would not be wise to import vaccine to put extra pressure on them.
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http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=203354&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

[AlaskaDenise]

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.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/02/24/news0308.htm

[Diane Morin]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bird flu strikes another Bangladesh district

24 Feb 2008 07:31:02 GMT

Source: Reuters

DHAKA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to another district in Bangladesh despite massive culling by authorities to fight the deadly outbreak, officials said, bringing the number of affected districts to 44 out of the country's 64.

The latest outbreak of H5N1 avian flu was detected in Munshiganj, 60 km (40 miles) from Dhaka, while the virus re-emerged in several other districts, livestock officials said on Sunday.

Nearly 911,000 birds have been culled to fight the virus since March 2007, but it continues to spread and now covers more than two-thirds of the impoverished country of more than 140 million people.

Bird flu has caused losses of about 45 billion taka ($650 million) to the poultry sector, which generates more than $1.8 billion annually, industry officials said.

"Nearly 90,000, or 60 percent of total poultry farms in the country, have been so far shut down due to the direct or indirect effect of bird flu, leaving around 150,000 people out of jobs," Syed Abu Siddeque, Secretary General of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association, told Reuters.

"The government should come forward to save the growing sector by taking different steps, including giving the farmers soft loans and other assistance," Siddeque said.

No human bird flu cases have been reported in Bangladesh, a densely populated nation with millions of fowl kept in backyards, and thousands of chicken farms.

Experts fear the H5N1 strain could mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic, especially in countries such as Bangladesh where people live in close proximity to backyard poultry.

Contact with sick fowl is the most common way of contracting bird flu. The virus has killed more than 230 people worldwide since 2003.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Writing by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Jerry Norton)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DHA220289.htm

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bangladesh bird flu hits two more districts <!-- END HEADLINE -->
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Two more districts in central Bangladesh have been hit by bird flu, the government said Sunday, as the nation nears its third month of trying to control an outbreak of the virus among poultry.
The deadly H5N1 strain was reported in central Munshiganj and Chandpur districts in the past two days, taking the number of affected districts to 45 since January, an official with the government's bird flu monitoring office said.
He added that nearly one million birds have been slaughtered since the latest outbreak began.
But government spokesman Salahuddin Khan said the situation was under control because fewer farms had been affected following a massive cull.
Before "an average six to seven farms were affected (daily) by the bird flu. Now this week the number has declined to an average of two farms a day," he said.
Bangladesh was first hit by bird flu in February 2007 but the disease became dormant. Officials said it resurfaced in January when 20 new districts were hit. So far in February another 13 have reported cases.
Bangladesh's poultry industry is one of the world's largest, producing 220 million chickens and 37 million ducks annually.
Last week industry officials said the spread of bird flu had led to the closure of 40 percent of the nation's poultry farms and left half a million workers jobless.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080224/wl_sthasia_afp/healthflubangladesh&printer=1;_ylt=AjpgXzgg__4dd6yQem6zdi3uOrgF

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

Bird Flu Related Information up to 23 February, 2008

1. No. of Farms with confirmed H5 Virus 177
2. No. of Districts with Confirmed H5 Virus 44
(Upazilla-92, Metro Thana-13)

( Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayangonj, Tangail, Jamalpur, Jessore, Noakhali, Gaibandha, 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, Munshigonj)

3. No. of Culled Farms 315

(Dhaka-36 (Savar-26, Turagh-01, Demra-01, Mirpur-03, Shabujbagh-01, Lalbagh-01, Nobabgonj-02, Badda-01), Gazipur-14, Jamalpur-06, Narayangonj-21, Tangail-07, Jessore-11, Noakhali-02, Gaibandha-04, Magura-01, Rajbari-04, Nilphamari-15, Dinajpur-30, Rangpur-06, jaipurhat-04, Lalmonirhat-04, Thakurgaon-03, Naogaon-02, Bagura-02, Feni-08, Pabna-05, Kurigram-01, Moulvibazar-01, Barisal-07, Barguna-16, Rajshahi-03, Natore-03, Patuakhali-02, Netrokona-01, Bhola-08, Manikgonj-03, Mymensingh-03, Gopalgonj-01, Khulna-14, Sylhet-01, Jhinaidah-04, Kustia-01, Narsingdhi-31, Bagerhat-02, Chittagong-10, Kishoregonj-05, Meherpur-02, Comilla-06, Shariatpur-01, Munshigonj-02)

4. Culled on 23/02/2008 ---

5. Culling up to 23/02/2008 9, 10, 699

http://www.mofl.gov.bd/daily_birdflu_report.pdf

[HenryN]

Re: BANGLADESH: Return of the bird flu threat

First Published: 22:38 IST(24/2/2008)
Last Updated: 22:42 IST(24/2/2008)

More fowls culled as bird flu rages on in Bangladesh


Bangladesh's health workers culled more than 58,000 fowls across the country in the past 24 hours as bird flu ravaged the country's poultry industry, officials in Dhaka said on Sunday.
The new culling was conducted in districts of Jamalpur, Rajshahi, Gazipur, Bogra, Tjhakurgaon, Feni and Chandpur.
An official at the bird flu control room told Xinhua that with the fresh culling of chickens, ducks, pigeons and pet birds, the total number of culled birds shot up to 968,731 since the avian influenza broke out in March last year.
A similar number of eggs were destroyed at 315 farms in 92 sub-districts under 45 districts, the official said.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association (BPIA) said the deadly virus has led to the closure of more than 50 percent of the farms and turned nearly five million people jobless.
"The losses we have faced are irreparable. Nearly five million men and women mostly in rural areas engaged in poultry business were turned jobless", Kaiser Rahman, president of BPLA said.
The BPIA demanded immediate import of vaccine to combat the virus and to protect chickens.
It also demanded granting bank loans on easy term for affected traders and owners of the feed mills, exemption of VAT and taxes on poultry fodder, equipment and other materials required for the industry, and allowing breeders and big farm owners to import kits for quick detection of the virus.
Meanwhile, prices of chickens and eggs at markets dropped drastically as panicked people stopped eating chickens and eggs.
However, microbiologists and physicians said there is no reason for the people to panic as there is no human infection case in Bangladesh.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=82bfd00f-206c-4361-8ea1-ef9b54aed5a7

[HenryN]

Re: Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY

20,185 more fowls culled

Staff Correspondent


Culling of fowls in bird flu affected areas in the country continued with 20,185 chickens slaughtered and 49,507 eggs destroyed yesterday in Dhaka, Satkhira and Kishoreganj.

As of yesterday, a total of 9,88,916 chickens have been culled and 12,21,143 eggs destroyed since February 2007 after the disease hit the country.

The livestock officials slaughtered 1,432 chickens at MS Agro Farm of Mahbubul Haq at Kamlapur village of Birulia under Savar yesterday after the deadly disease was detected there, the bird flu control room sources said.

Our Satkhira correspondent reports: At least 2,970 chickens, 100 ducks and 52 pigeons were culled and 309 eggs were destroyed at six poultry farms in village Magura of Sadar upazila last night after the presence of avian influenza was confirmed at a farm.

District Livestock Officer Deb Narayan Roy said they collected samples of some dead chickens from Star Poultry Farm on Friday and sent those to Dhaka for test where the presence of deadly bird flu virus was detected.

Eight teams from the District Livestock Office conducted the culling in Magura village and the 1 square kilometre adjoining area with the help of law enforcers and upazila administration.

Meanwhile, at least 16,020 fowls were culled in the early hours yesterday at a farm at Kishoreganj sadar upazila following the detection of avian influenza virus, reports our Kishoreganj correspondent quoting the District Livestock Office (DLO) sources.

So far, a total of 37,020 fowls had been culled in the district after the deadly disease broke out, the DLO sources said.

District Livestock Officer Nurul Islam and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shahnewaj Dilruba Khanam were present during the culling of the chickens at Aqua Culture Agro-based Fishery and Poultry Farm owned by Khaled Saifullah Shohel at the Beruail village.

Talking to The Daily Star, the distressed farm owner said that while each chicken cost him over Tk 350 to rear it to the present egg-laying stage, the government is providing only Tk 96 per chicken as compensation.

He would suffer a loss of around Tk 50,000 due to this, he added.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=25028

[sharon sanders]

Re: Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY

Nearly 70,000 more fowls culled in Bangladesh following detection of bird flu
Posted: 02/27
From: Mathaba



DHAKA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Another 69,862 fowls were culled and2,35,408 eggs destroyed in the last two days in three districts of Bangladesh due to infection of Avian influenza virus, leading newspaper The Daily Star reported Wednesday.

Livestock department personnel culled 58,130 chickens including37,000 chicks and destroyed 2,26,813 eggs from one single poultry farm in Mymensingh district, about 120 km north of capital Dhaka.

Bird flu infection was detected at the farm on Feb. 23, said bird flu control room sources.

In Boalkhali sub-district of southeastern Chittagong district, a team of livestock department culled 2,333 chickens, pigeons and ducks from a farm. The team also destroyed 140 eggs from neighboring houses, the bird flu control room sources added.

Besides, in western Pabna district, 2,804 fowls and 8,455 eggs were destroyed from a farm in Atghoria sub-district and 300 ducks, pigeons and other domestic fowls were culled from nearby houses on Monday.

Following the detection of bird flu in the farm, the livestock department sent out a team to cull the fowls in the farm.

Bird flu, which broke out in March last year, became devastating early this year forcing thousands of farms closed and tens of thousands jobless.

So far, 10,58,778 fowls have been culled and 14,56,551 eggs destroyed in 44 out of 64 districts of the country, according to the bird flu control room.

http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=583490

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[Treyfish]

Re: Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY

Bird flu update: Culling in Mymensingh, Ctg, Pabna continues


Staff Reporter

Another 69,862 fowls were culled and 2,35,408 eggs destroyed in the country's three districts due to infection of avian influenza virus.

Livestock Department's personnel yesterday slaughtered 58,130 chickens including 37,000 chicks and destroyed 2,26,813 eggs from one single poultry farm in Mymensingh.

Bird flu infection was detected at the farm on February 23, said the bird flu control room official.

In Chittagong, a team of livestock department culled 2,333 chickens, pigeons and ducks from a farm at Boalkhali upazila. The team also destroyed 140 eggs from neighbouring houses, he added.

Besides, in Pabna, 2,804 fowls and 8,455 eggs were destroyed from a farm in Atghoria upazila and 300 ducks, pigeons and other domestic fowls were culled from nearby houses yesterday.

Following the detection of bird flu in the farm, the livestock department sent out a team to cull the fowls in the farm.

Bird flu, which broke out in March last year, became devastating early this year forcing thousands of farms to close and tens of thousands of people jobless.

So far, 10,58,778 fowls have been culled and 14,56,551 eggs destroyed in 44 out of 64 districts of the country, according to the bird flu control room.

http://www.nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/02/28/news0602.htm

[sharon sanders]

Re: Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY

776 more chickens culled in Savar

Some 776 chickens of a poultry farm were culled at Kathgara in Ashulia union Thursday after detection of avian influenza virus.

Officials said some chickens of ?SA Poultry Farm? died recently after H5N1 virus broke out in the area.

Earlier, the chickens of ?Rahman Poultry Farm? were annihilated after detection of the virus.

--UNB, Savar

http://www.bangladeshinfo.com/news/other_news_head.php?othid=45149

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Bangladesh: Bird Flu in ANIMALS/POULTRY

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